Total Drama Takes the Stage
by Turkey and Swiss Sandwich
Summary: Chris McLean is back with Blaineley and Don to kick off the newest season of Total Drama: Total Drama Takes the Stage! 27 teens will be selected to compete in a summer-long musical competition featuring singing, dancing, and musical instruments. Will the contestants manage to keep their drama off the stage? If the hosts have anything to say about it, they won't! (24/27 Remain)
1. Chapter 1

**_*The application is at the end!_**

* * *

_Ding_, went the hotel elevator signifying that it had reached the first floor of the Toronto Hilton. Only a man stood in front of the elevator, with nothing but a cell phone in his baby smooth hands (_thank you, Goldbond hand cream sponsorship,_ he thought). He let out a sigh of anticipation as the doors slowly opened, releasing the three or so hotel guests. He entered the elevator and checked a message on his phone before hitting the button for Level 6. He leaned against the railing and checked his reflection in the golden mirrored walls. The man had seen better days. The bags under his eyes appeared more pronounced than usual and his light brown coif was starting to grey at the temples. He signed once more and fixed his grey sweater. _This had better be something good_.

The doors had nearly slid to a complete close when a voice rang out from behind them. "Wait! Hold the elevator!" It was a woman, the man determined, and one that sounded oddly familiar. He quickly hit the button with the Open symbol on it, and in the nick of time the doors stopped. They opened to reveal a face just as familiar as the voice.

"Blaineley O'Halloran?!" Exclaimed the man as the woman entered the elevator.

The blonde blinked in shock. "Uh…you?" She knew the man from somewhere, she just couldn't quite place it. Was he some wannabe D-Lister who was constantly trying to get on an episode of _Celebrity Manhunt_ by performing outside of her old studio? The particularly flirty waiter who had asked for more than just an autograph after her 4-star meal last week? Some mindless far-too-old stan that she had blocked on Twitter after fighting them over her less-than-polite comments about their favorite boyband? He looked like he could've been the last one. "Listen if you're still upset about what I said, I stand by it fully. The guy just can't sing!"

"What? No, no, you have me mistaken. We've never actually met."

_Thank God_, thought Blaineley. "Then why do I feel like I've seen you before?"

The man frowned. _Has it really been that long?_ "It's me! Don? From Total—"

"Wait! I know you!" Don relaxed. He wasn't a nobody, after all. "You're the guy from those hand cream commercials! 'Super smooth, super fine', right? Goodness, I always changed the channel when you showed up." She laughed to herself and crossed her arms, casually noting that the elevator was conveniently already on its way to the floor she was ordered to go to.

Don scrubbed a hand over his face in frustration. "Uh, yeah, I've done more than just those commercials, you know. I've literally won 4 Emmy's? I modelled for Calvin Klein? I hosted a season of Total Drama? Any of this ringing a bell for you?"

Blaineley squinted her blue eyes. "Which season? I would definitely know if you hosted. I would've sent Chris a fruit basket with a card mocking him for losing his job."

Don sighed. This wouldn't be the first or last time he had this conversation. "Ridonculous Race. There were some budget cuts and the producers couldn't find a distributor, so it had to go online." Blaineley, who had started touching up her lipstick during Don's explanation, snorted.

"Well, that explains it. What are you doing here at the Hilton?" Don brightened at the change of subject. He hated being known as the "less relevant Total Drama host".

"McLean texted me two days ago asking me to meet him here. Something about a new TD season, I'm pretty sure. He was pretty vague, I almost thought it was a prank."

Blaineley raised a perfectly arched eyebrow. "Did this text happen to say 'Room 607, Toronto Hilton, 7 PM sharp. Tell anyone and you're getting totally suuueeeeeed'?"

"Yeah! How did you—oh." Don crossed his toned arms over his chest. And here he thought this was a solo gig.

Blaineley seemed to notice his disappointment. "Cheer up, Buttercup. If this meeting doesn't end with an offer of six figures, then I'm out and it's all yours. I deserve at least that much for dealing with McLean again. Plus, I plan on buying a summer home in Bali and those things are _not_ cheap. Then again, you probably wouldn't know much about that, would you?" Before Don could retort, the doors slid open to Level 6. "Alright, let's get this show on the road."

The pair walked to suite 607 in silence. Before Don could even knock on the door, it swung open to reveal a gruntled Chris McLean. "You're late," he said with a slight whine.

"It's only 7:03," said Don just as Blaineley spat, "What, were you just standing at the door waiting for us?!" Chris ignored both of them and motioned for them to enter the suite.

Don looked around the main room, from the plush sofa and loveseat set to the in-wall flat screen TV to the amazing view of the city. "Nice place you got here, McLean."

"Yeah," Blaineley added. "I'm surprised you can actually afford it. Didn't your house in Malibu get foreclosed last year?" Though the question was seemingly asked with concern, Blaineley was smirking.

Chris let out a humorless laugh. "How's that new game show of yours doing? Oh wait, my bad, it got cancelled before it even hit the air."

Blaineley sputtered wordlessly. _No one was supposed to know about that yet! _"T-that show was beneath me anyhow!"

Chris turned to Don. "What about you, show-stealer? You having fun doing those foot cream commercials?"

"It's hand cream! Hand. Cream!"

Chris shrugged. "Whatever. Listen, I didn't invite you guys here to point out your multiple failures—though I do love pointing those out! You two are here because I have a proposal that should be mutually beneficial for all of us."

Blaineley sat down in the loveseat, legs crossed. "And that is?"

"I'm getting to that…" Chris growled. "You see this suite? It's pretty freakin' sweet, right?" He laughed at his own bad pun and frowned when he realized the other two hadn't joined him. "Anyway, I managed to pay for this with my up-front bonus for the newest season of Total Drama."

Don clapped his hands together. "I knew it! When do we start?"

"Whoa, whoa, slow your roll, dude. I haven't even told you what this season was about."

Blaineley rolled her eyes. "Isn't it just gonna be the same as always? Getting a bunch of teenagers to damn near kill themselves for the sake of entertainment?"

"_No_. This is different. The big TV execs won't let us get away with that kinda stuff anymore. And honestly? My criminal record can't take another hit. My old lawyers quit and now I'm stuck using whoever the production company provides. _Whack_." Chris picked up the remote for the TV and turned it on, where it was playing some singing competition show. "We have to play it a bit safe. But not too safe. This is still Total Drama so somebody's breaking a leg. One way or another." He carelessly threw the remote off to the side, resulting in it hitting a vase and breaking it instantly. Without even looking up he went, "room service will take care of it."

Don shuffled away from the broken shards of glass. "So…what—"

"Jeeze will you guys just let me finish? I'm only trying to save your pathetic careers, here. An-y-way…" Chris pointed at the television screen. "You see that?"

Blaineley regarded the TV with a dull-eyed look. "Some dime-a-dozen singing show? What about it?"

"Audiences eat this stuff up! No matter how many shows like it flood the market, they'll watch it. And there's like, no drama whatsoever on them. I mean what the hell is that about? The worst thing that happens is little Billy Bob from Middle of Nowhere, Kansas getting a scratchy throat and getting eliminated. Boo. It's boring!"

Don finally took a seat on the sofa adjacent to Blaineley. "I'm sorry Chris, but where do we come in with this?"

Chris faced him, beady eyes nearly bulging out of his head. "_Let. Me. Finish. Please_." Don held up his hands in surrender and Chris continued. "The execs want Total Drama to fill that craving for betrayal and catfights and forbidden 'showmances' while also following the same song and dance formula. They want the three of us to host Total! Drama! Takes the Stage!" He finished his announcement with a flourish and waited for the other two to drop to their knees in praise.

He was met with silence.

"What gives? Do I need to say it again? Total! Drama! Takes the—"

"Isn't this the same thing as Total Drama Action?" Don asked.

"No. That was about acting, this is about singing. And dancing. And all that other crap."

"We had to sing on World Tour though," Blaineley pointed out.

Chris was at his wit's end. "How many times do I have to tell you guys it's _different_?! You know that show _The Voice_?"

Don nodded while Blaineley scoffed. "Can't stand that show. Not for any particular reason. Definitely has nothing to do with Adam Levine dumping me after our two-week 'situationship'. Nope."

"Well, it's literally gonna be the exact same thing except we'll change it up just the slightest bit so we don't get sued! Each of us will have a team of talented singers, dancers, and musicians and our three teams will compete against each other in each episode. Whichever team has the least impressive musical spectacle has to send somebody home. Once there's twelve contestants left there's a merge and it's every performer for themselves. We'll switch things up with challenges that determine who gets special privileges during their routine. But here's where the drama comes in. The cameras won't stop rolling when they're done singing. They'll run all night. And we'll introduce sabotages into the game to make things a little more…interesting." Chris snickered to himself_. Oh, they'll be breaking a leg alright._

Don raised his hand. "Are you done?" Chris nodded, though begrudgingly. "Good. I don't know about this. This sounds like something that'll get cancelled halfway through the run. Plus, what do any of us know about singing?"

"Uh, first of all, false! This is a proven recipe for success! Singing _and_ drama? Where else can you get that?"

Blaineley replied, "Oh, I don't know, Broadway?"

Chris ignored her. "Second of all, who cares! All of these shows use singers with half-dead careers anyway. That being said, yours truly was in a boy band..."

"A terrible one no one remembers."

"Shut up, Blaineley! For Pete's sake!" The aging host rubbed his temples. "What I'm trying to say is, the viewers won't care whether or not _we_ can hold a tune. When it comes to us, we just gotta make sure the rivalry is there. Think about it this way, Donnie—"

"Don't call me that."

"_Don_ _Juan_, you can be the good guy to Blaineley's bitter bitch and my sadistic sociopath. Doesn't that sound like a great dynamic? Longtime TD fans would love to see it!"

Don considered it. Though he had initially been ready to accept the deal, he wasn't sure. He had to be honest with himself: he didn't really have much of a choice. His career had been in an upward trajectory until Ridonculous Race, when it suddenly took a turn for the worst. No one of any sort of respectability in the business wanted to work with anyone associated with the controversy-ridden Total Drama series. On the one hand, if he took this opportunity, it would forever solidify him as Chris 2.0, doomed to host different versions of the same show for the rest of his career. If he didn't, on the other hand, he'd be stuck advertising hand cream forever.

He shuddered. No. He would _not_ be the hand cream guy. Don released a breath. "Okay, I'm in."

Chris practically jumped in the air. "Perfect! Blaineleeyyyy," he began, dragging her name out in anticipation. She snarled at him in response.

"How much?"

"Well the winnings are $500,000—"

"You know what I'm talking about, McLean. Some of us have summer homes to purchase."

Chris plopped down in the seat next to Don, mentally exhausted by all the contract details swirling through his head. "$11 Million, but I'm pretty sure it's negotiable."

Blaineley smiled her first genuine smile that day, if not that year. "That much for a show that'll probably tank after a couple seasons? Count me in."

Chris gave his own smile, though far less genuine. "Good. I have the contracts right here."

* * *

**Hello! Turkey and Swiss here with my first story in a looong time. I've been reading a lot of SYOC TD stories lately and was inspired, especially by TurnipTheBeets' fics (seriously, check them out), so I decided to make my own! This will essentially be Total Drama meets The Voice (I've actually never seen the show a day in my life but my grandma is obsessed so I know the set up). 24 teens (15-18) will compete to win a reward of $500,000 and a record/performance deal. The 24 will be split up into three teams of 8: Team Chris, Team Blaineley, and Team Don. The contestants can specialize in either singing, dancing, or playing a musical instrument. If they do more than one feel free to include that in the application and it'll come in handy after the merge. Each chapter will feature a mini challenge and performances. Whoever has the least impressive performance will be eliminated. The finale will feature the top three performers competing against each other. More will be explained as the story starts. For now, here's the application! I'll give it a week for submissions. You can either PM me or submit them in the comments (though PM is preferred). I'm looking for a diverse array of characters here. Diverse in stereotype (not everyone can be the sweet shy person), diverse in cultural background, diverse in musical interest, etc! If I don't get enough submissions, I'll either fill in with my own OCs or scrap this in shame lol. I may or may not add my own OC but they have no chance of winning lmao. Also, keep in mind this is a rated T story, so there will be cursing and potential sexual themes in later chapters. If you're against that let me know in the app!**

**(EDIT: I forgot to put the app on my profile so you could copy and paste! If you were having trouble before it's on my profile now!)**

**Full Name:**

**Nickname or Stage Name (if they have one): **

**Age and School Year (if in school):**

**Gender:**

**Race and Ethnicity:**

**Sexual Orientation:**

**Main Talent (Singing, Dancing, Instrument):**

**Secondary Talent (your OC does not need to have one):**

**Preferred Genre (Ex. If singing, pop; if dancing, salsa; if an instrument, say which instrument and then a genre like classical):**

**Stereotype (Can either be music related like "Broadway Geek" or non-music related):**

**Physical Description:**

** Skin tone:**

** Eye shape and color:**

** Hair color, length, style:**

** Height:**

** Physical build:**

** Anything else:**

**Personality (as detailed as possible please):**

**Clothing Style:**

**Backstory/Hidden Secret:**

**Musical Inspiration:**

**Favorite Song:**

**Want a Relationship:**

**Allergies:**

**Fears:**

**Strengths:**

**Weaknesses:**

**Audition Tape (why you should be chosen etc and a performance. These will be featured in the story!):**

**Anything Else:**


	2. Chapter 2

"_Yeesh_, I didn't expect for us to get this many applications this fast. I mean, of course the people are eager to see this handsome face again but..." Chris ended his observation with a low whistle. As he peered through the intern-vetted applications, he had to say, he was impressed. For a new format of the show, people sure seemed to be interested. _Hook, line, and sinker_, the host thought.

Chris' longtime associate Chef Hatchet echoed his sentiment. "Yeah, this should be a good season. Some of these kids are gonna be fun to mess with."

Chris laughed at this. "I know, right? I think," he shuffled through his stack of applications before reaching the one he was looking for. "This one will probably cry on Day 1." He snickered before peering at the one Chef had in his large, calloused hands. "Whew boy, that one may even pee their pants!"

Chef smirked. "Wouldn't even take much to spook 'em." Chris pondered through the files again before frowning, which Chef noticed. "What?"

Chris sighed. "Well, it's just I don't know if we'll have as much drama. I can't see any of these losers clashing with each other."

"Nah, look at these two," he began, shoving two other applications into Chris' face. "That's conflict right there. On sight."

"Hm, you have a point. And that last one I was looking at and the one at the top of the pile, and maybe even that other kid? Yeah, those three would be fun to watch." The cogs in Chris' head were turning now. He could just see it. The deceit, the hormones, the _ratings_.

"Oh..." went Chef, snapping Chris out of his reverie. "This one right here? Trouble." He handed the host the final application, and before Chris was even halfway finished reading it he began to cackle.

"Oh man, you were right Chef. This is gonna be a good season. I can't wait to watch these audition tapes."

Chef used a cord to connect Chris' laptop screen to the hotel flat screen TV. "I'm ready to watch 'em when you are."

Chris nearly got comfortable before jumping up. "Wait! Let me make some popcorn first!"

* * *

**Thank you to everyone that has submitted so far! I'm surprised that I got so many so quickly. There are currently 16 applications in out of 24. Of those 16, I can confidently say 10 of those have been accepted. I'm still deliberating on the other 6. Part of this is because I stupidly forgot that you can't copy and paste from the story on here and didn't put the application on my page until I had already gotten like 5 submissions. If you sent an application that had different questions from another SYOC story, could you kindly use the one that's on my profile now? Some of the OCs had a lot of promise but a lot of the questions that are on the app for TDTTS were missing so I couldn't make a fair decision. Also! I highly encourage people to apply with male characters! Of course female characters are still welcome but I only have 4/12 males so far accepted. I'm probably gonna wrap up the application period up sooner than I said because my creative juices are really flowing with this story and I don't want them to be gone by the time I get started, so let's give it a couple more days? If that's not enough time please let me know! I'll be sending out messages to those accepted after posting this and to everyone else, either resubmit with the application on my profile, your OC didn't really fit the concept, or there was already a character submitted with too similar of a personality. But everyone who submitted did an amazing job and I encourage you to submit your OCs to as many of these as possible! **

**I'm looking for variety so feel free to consult the list below to see what stereotypes have already been taken! **

Accepted (so far):

GUYS

1\. Zavier Townsend (The Soundcloud Rapper)- purplepancakes

2\. Aaron Tomas Alvarez (The Troy Bolton)- blankspace76xx

3\. Andrew James Hanson (The Lounge Singer)- Skyn1nja123

4\. Jalen Blakenship (The Not-So Smooth Talker)- XxxInquistorXxx

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

GIRLS

1\. Eleanor Evangeline Graham (The Mouse)- blankspace76xx

2\. Janice Alexandra Marlick (The Classy Dancer)- Candela Monsoon

3\. Genevieve Duprée (The Imposing Psychologist)- GingerFrancophone

4\. Millie Noel Roberts-Chang (The Broadway Expert)- purplepancakes

5\. Ariana Contessa Maverelli (The Youtube Ice Queen)- maria

6\. Luna Burmont (The Un-Snobby Rich British Girl)- JG243

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.


	3. Roasting the Contestants (PART 1)

"Alright, I got the popcorn," said Chris, tossing Chef a bag of microwave popcorn. "It's the extra buttery kind, just how you like it. Don't blame me when you have a heart attack, 'kay?" Chef ignored him in favor of taking a handful of the buttery snack and shoving it into his mouth, eyes closed in bliss.

Chris watched, disgusted. "Gross." He shook it off and opened his own, butterless bag of popcorn and returned to his seat on the sofa. "Alrighty, who do we have first?"

"The auditions are organized alphabetically, so some kid named Aaron." Chef hit the play button on the laptop and the video began to play on the television screen.

_First static. Then an image of a locker room with a 17 year old boy of Latin descent sitting on a bench tying the laces of his brand new sneakers appeared. He looked around the quiet locker room for a bit before addressing the camera. "Hey, how's it going? Name's Aaron Alvarez. I'd hate to sound like a douche but I'm kinda a big deal around here. Swing by San Antonio sometime and you'll see." The boy finished tying his shoes and leaned forward and spoke in a whisper. "I'm a big deal because I'm into all the sports around here. In fall I'm the quarterback on my school's football team. In the winter I'm the basketball team's captain. In the spring I run track. I do it all. But...there's something I do that I'm not so known for. If people knew I did this my reputation might be ruined." He gulped and checked his surroundings one last time. "I...like musicals. I know! That sounds so...High School Musical, but I honestly can't tell anyone. I got bullied for it in middle school and," he stopped himself. "I'm not getting into that. Just know I love to sing, and I want a chance to show my chops. Maybe if I'm doing it on a big TV show like TDI it won't be that big of a deal and people will just accept it...or I could return home and be the biggest laughingstock of San Antonio..." The teen dropped his head into his arms. "Whatever. I'm singing 'Sante Fe' from my favorite show, _Newsies_." The youth broke out into song, his voice echoing beautifully in the empty locker room. He finished with a bow of his head and waved at the camera before it cut off to black._

Chef chuckled under his breath. "Big jock secretly likes musicals, huh?"

"I will personally visit San Antonio if it means getting to see him be a laughingstock," said Chris before tossing a tasteless piece of popcorn into his mouth. "Who's next?"

"Some Youtuber girl my niece is obsessed with," Chef answered, rolling his eyes before hitting play.

_A tall, slim girl with olive skin sat in a bright pink chair in front of her state of the art camera. The lighting was set up just so everything hit her angles perfectly. Her onyx tresses fell over her shoulders like waves. She was gorgeous beyond compare. "Hello Total Drama" her voice was rich and smooth. "My name is Ariana Maverelli, but I go by Tessa on my channel Tessa's World. You can call me Ari though. I swear I'm not copying Ariana Grande, even though I will be singing one of her songs in a bit. Why should I be on Total Drama? Well, I'm extremely talented and will provide the show with a whole new set of viewers, my 1.5 million subscribers. I love my gumdrops!" She made a heart with her hands and stuck her tongue out at the camera. "They'll tune in to see me every night, so you should definitely pick me. Also, I have a knack for causing drama...don't tell anyone though. The real reason I want to be on the show? Well...I need an excuse to not go home over the summer. I'm too old for summer camp and my bestie is going to Paris with her family so..." She looked down into her lap. "I just really don't want to be home right now." She lifted her head with confidence. "But! Enough of that. Here's my audition..." She started to sing God is a Woman by Ariana Grande with passion and grace. She finished and went "I think that speaks for itself. Pick me, Total Drama: Takes the Stage. I'm worth it!" She did her trademark double piece signs and the camera clicked off._

Chris fake gagged. "Yeesh, there's such a thing as too much pep, y'know?" Chef nodded.

"Any amount of pep is too much for me. Especially the kind that seems forced." He went to the next audition for a girl by the name of Brianna.

_Brianna hummed quietly as she fixed her camera. Once it was angled right, the blonde giggled and waved shyly. "H-Hello. I-I'm Brianna Hanami and I would love to be a part of your show because I've always loved to sing but I never been confident to sing for an audience. I-I want to break out of my shell and show what I can do. So I will be singing L-Listen by Beyonce. I hope you like it." The blonde explained, taking a deep breath. As soon as the music started, Brianna began singing the song. As the song was building, the blonde slowly sang louder. Once the song ended, the blonde blushed a bit. "I-I hope you consider me. I promise to work hard and do my best! Sayonara~" Brianna waved, ending her video._

"The girl looks afraid of her own shadow," Chef commented.

"We'll give her more than a shadow to be afraid of," added Chris, his mind already working with ideas. "Next!" Chef started the video of a boy named Daewon.

_A hand covers the screen, shielding away what we will soon find out is a handsome 16 year old from South Korea. When he removes the hand, we see his delicate features: a long, sinewy nose; mischievous eyes covered with bright blue contacts; plump pink lips that seem to perpetually be in a smirk; almost elven ears that have silver cross earrings hanging off of them; perfectly plucked eyebrows; and of course, pale pink hair, freshly dyed for the audition. He looks like your typical K-Pop idol. If he were famous, you could imagine him having hoards of fans. However, he is not famous, so very not famous he has to audition for Total Drama Takes the Stage. _

_He does not say a word. Is it because he cannot speak English? No, he's practically fluent having stayed in the states with his aunt every summer. Is he shy? Absolutely not. Kim Daewon was not shy. _

_We hear music all of a sudden. BTS's "Home" is playing and Daewon busts into a perfect replica of the choreography. His eyes never leave the camera for a second. When the song ends he says the only thing he says the entire tape: "They couldn't handle me in Korea so I'm taking my talents elsewhere. Get ready Total Drama." He winks and turns off the camera. _

"Uh okay…" Chris trails off, a little skeeved out. "Is it just me or is that one just a tad creepy?"

Chef blows air out of his nose. "Definitely not just you. Lemme put on the next tape to get that out of my system." He selects the next video titled "Dalton's Audition".

_The camera was set up in front of fence that held several cows. A young man appeared from behind the camera and greeted it. "Hey, y'all, I'm Dalton! Sorry for the view, this was the only time I could record this!" he said referring to the cows. "Anyway, I'm auditioning for a spot on your program. I'm fixing to take that $500,000 and record deal and have a hoot doing it! You should pick me because I've got the heart and the drive. I'm auditioning because, well, my Pa just don't believe in me." He took off his cowboy hat in reverence. "He thinks musicians are no good Lazy Lou's with no future ahead of them. Well, I'm gonna prove him wrong. If I win this and snatch that deal, I'll be more famous than he coulda ever imagined. And I'll have the bucks to send my baby sister Anna-Leigh off to college instead of the military." He shudders before putting his hat back on. "I'm gonna sing 9 to 5 by the legend herself Miss Dolly Parton." When he finished, he took off his hat again and bowed. "So, with all due respect, pick me for your show!" In the background, a cow walked up to the fence and mooed loudly, startling Dalton. "Whoops, I guess that's the end of that!_

Chris began laughing as soon as the video finished. "Who let this Yeehaw audition?!"

Chef cued up the next video, saying "Hey, as long as he doesn't track manure through the place, he's fine with me." The next video was from a boy named Devon.

"_Is this thing on?" Asks an African American teen sporting glasses and a bow tie. His face is extremely close to the camera. He steps away and placed his hands on his hips. "My name is Devon Richardson Jr., son of the most well known preacher in all of Atlanta, maybe even all of Georgia: Pastor Devon Richardson. Our family is the pinnacle of class and godliness." He says. Devon then wipes his now sweaty hands on his trousers. "Which is why I can't let my baby sister ruin us. If she joins this show, she'll destroy our good name! The Total Drama Franchise is BANNED in our household because of all its scandal and depravity. My sister is easily wooed. The last thing we need is her doing something crazy on your show. That's why I'm signing up too. She's so damn—sorry, dang—stubborn, she'd never take no for an answer. She needs guidance in the form of her big brother. If you accept her, you're dang sure accepting me too!" He finishes with increased volume. From another room, a female voice yells "NO THEY AIN'T!" to which he yells back "THEY SURE ARE!" The camera glitches slightly until Devon appears on the screen again. "Sorry about that. Just got in trouble for yelling in the house. Anyway, here's my audition song." He breaks into a rendition of the gospel song "Take Me to the King" by Tamela Mann. His deep voice gives a new life to the song typically sung by a woman. He is still when he finishes and says to the camera "I play no games. Accept us both or none at all." The video ends. _

Chris blinks. "What the hell crawled up that kid's butt and died?"

"I swear veins were starting to pop in his head," joked Chef. The next video was of a young man named Drew.

_(Static)  
Sitting on a long blue couch was young, quite handsome man. He's bathed in mood lighting, chatting people, and bad nightclub music. He's strung out like a model, with his legs crossed and his arm around a lady who looks like she doesn't want to be there. "Sup! The name's Drew." He says, before lighting a cigarette with his other arm. "I've never watched Total Drama or whatever, but what the hell." He takes a drag. "Accept me on the show, and I guarantee high ratings." He winks. A girl steps in front of the camera, pose suggestive, and says "Drew, come dance with me." He readjusts his posture, stands up and abandons the other woman, and looks down at the camera. "annnd, cut. Seeya!"  
(Static)_

"Seems like an ass," Chris said. "I love him already!"

"Huh, funny, he reminds me of you." Chef got one laugh in before being swatted by the host. "Alright, alright." He clicked on the next video boy named Dustin.  
_  
We get a view of a decent looking living room while Dustin was playing chess against..._

_...himself._

_"OH SHOOT! Stupid black had to make a check for it!" Dustin yelled angrily._

_"Dustin, this is an audition tape." His twin brother said aggressively._

_"What!" Dustin snapped. "I DEMAND A TAKE TWO RIGHT NOW!_

_*take two*_

_This time, Dustin was playing chess again and the black side won. It's kinda weird since he's playing against himself._

_"HAHAHAHAHA!" he laughed menacingly._

_"You're not supposed to laugh like that." Aaron crossed his arms._

_"TAKE THREE!"_

_"THERE WILL BE NO TAKE THREE!" Denzel and Aaron shouted in unison._

_"Never mind." Dustin shook his head as part of this was all an act. "Hey guys, I'm Dustin! I wanna join because my fellow two bros here have joined TD before so I'm next! I hope you guys pick me since I think I've got what it takes to win. Or pass the merge. And most of all, I wanna show everyone that they can be good in multiple things like..."_

_He thinks for a bit before snapping his fingers._

_"Math and arts! Those don't go well, right?" He tilted his head before Aaron frowned at him. "...Somethin' like that. So yeah BYE!"_

_The camera didn't shut off._

_"I said bye!"_

_"The cam's broken!"_

_The Obsidians all tried to turn off the camera but failed._

_*end audition*_

Chris snorted at the antics. "Huh, who knew colossal nerds could be into the arts too?"

"I already got a challenge set up for him." He clicked the following video, featuring a girl by the name of Eleanor.

_Blurry footage appears of a girl, a lovely young teen named Eleanor, singing quietly to herself in a bathroom. She hits the high notes flawlessly as she goes through her nightly skincare routine. It is only when the person, her younger brother Aidan, holding the camera starts to giggle that she notices she's being recorded and turns around with a yelp. "Aidan what the hell—" is all that is heard before the camera goes to black. _

_The camera fades in again in a bedroom this time. The same girl from before sits with her arms wrapped around her legs on her bed. "Um, hi…" she says, quietly, before clearing her throat and repeating herself louder. "Hi. I'm Eleanor. I can't believe I'm doing this." She pauses to glare at her brother who is still holding the camera. "But, I'm being forced against my will. Uh…I don't really care if I get in or not…" the video cuts to Aidan, who is revealed to be an adorable 12 year old with curly hair and large brown eyes. "Don't listen to her! She's obsessed with Total Drama Island! She wanted to audition but deleted every single one she filmed." At this point he was running away as Eleanor chased him through their home. "She loves to sing! She sings all the time she just hates doing it in front of people." He turns a corner into what appears to be a kitchen. "She needs this show or she'll never get up on stage again. You won't regret letting her on!" The boy finds himself cornered between the edge of the counter and what must be his sister. "I gotta go. Remember the name Eleanor Graham!" _

"Ah," Chris sighed. "The reluctant ones are the best, aren't they Chef?"

"If you mean the best to mess with, yes," he answered with a quirk of the lips. "On to the next one." With that, a video made by a girl named Erica began.

_Erica was using her phone to record as she walked through her neighborhood. She looked tired and weary. "I'm gonna keep this short. I need to be on this show because I need the money. Desperately. I'll spare you the deets of my sob story." She nodded to someone she passed on the street. "I'm a people-person. But I don't take shit from no one." She stopped in front of a playground. "I dance pretty damn well if I say so myself. My tia says it's the only thing I have going for me. What a bitch." She set her phone down on a picnic table and took an old iPod out of her hoodie pocket, she looked at it like an old friend. She went through some songs before finding the right one. Con Altura by ROSALIA and J. Balvin started playing. Erica rocked her shoulders as the beat played. She began to move in slow motion when ROSALIA's verse began and broke out into exaggerated yet precise dance moves when J. Balvin rapped. Her moves were calculated but gave off the air that they were improvised. She finished the routine with a spin and struck a pose. "So yeah, that's all I got." She breathed out, only a little fatigued after the routine. She picked up the phone off of the table and let it come close to her face. "Byeeeee bitchessss." *end*_

Chris sighed once the video ended. "I can tell we're gonna need to use the censors quite a lot for her." Chef raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't the show get moved to a new network with laxer regulations on cursing?" Chris lit up at this.

"Dude, you're so right! It's a good thing too, between that girl and Blaineley we would've gotten so sued by the CRTC here _and_ the FCC in the U.S."

Chef played the next video, which was submitted by a young man by the name of Fifi who went by Chiara.

_Lights up on an ornate stage, where the scene is given through soulful and mourning arias by a Greek chorus. It is the past, and a young woman with eyes like stars, beautiful beyond words in face and in voice, has taken society by storm. But the spirits of the singers before her are jealous: when the woman becomes pregnant, they curse her baby, and he is born a beast. It should be obvious now, this is Chiara's supposed origin story._

_The clip lasts about ten minutes._

_Throughout, the audience sporadically sniffs, or represses a small sob, but as the child playing young Chiara yields to Fiorello Chiara proper, and the seventeen-year-old opens his mouth, the sound that pours own sends the audience into a free fall. Folks are applauding, wailing, inelegantly blowing noses, long before he is finished. When he concludes, the roar is deafening, and he is crying as well. But his smiling too, and manages a small wink at the camera, before his takes his bow._

No witty comments exited the mouths Chris or Chef. Both instead sniffled quietly, trying their hardest to conceal their tears from the other man. Chris coughed abruptly and shot up on his feet, his face still turned away from his friend.

"Uh…I'm gonna go get some tis—I mean napkins!" Chef nodded wordlessly in response as Chris ran off to find anything to wipe his eyes. He returned with a roll of paper towels that he quickly scrubbed his face with. Chef took a piece of the roll himself and blew his nose. Once they were done, they sat in an uncomfortable silence.

Chris tapped a beat on his knees. "So…"

Chef cut him off with a loud, "Next video!" Chris let out a breath of relief as the submission by a young lady named Genevieve played on the screen.

_The tape starts with a girl, she is sat on a marble step that is set in front of a massive building, multiple students are milling in and out of the building as the girl smiles. Her blonde hair is tied into a ponytail behind her and she is smiling kindly at the camera. She is wearing a simple white blouse tucked into navy blue pants and a pair of black boots._

_"Hello all who may see this," She began, "My name is Genevieve Duprée and I am here to audition for the new series of Total Drama: Takes the Stage. I do believe that this season of Total Drama has come at the most opportune time, it allows me to showcase my skill sets while also providing me with some rather interesting studies. If you must know, my main goal is to help the people that your show often attracts, those that are troubled and need guidance and acceptance in their lives. That might sound boring to you, but remember that these people are often the ones that cause the most 'drama' that you oh so love, and I will want to keep them around." The girl winked at the camera and smirked, "Let me on and you're making it that bit easier for your ratings magnets to survive too."_

_The tape cuts to the same girl standing on a stage within a large amphitheatre. The girl's hair was now curled so that it fell in neat little waves over her shoulders. She was now wearing a stunning red dress that swept the floor underneath her. She takes a deep breath and begins to sing in a rich and swirling operatic tone._

_"O mio babbino Caro.  
Mi piace è mi bello, bello  
Vo'andare in Porta Rossa  
A comperar l'anello_

_Sì, sì, ci voglio andare  
E se l'amassi indarno  
Andrei sul Ponte Vecchio  
Ma per buttarmi in Arno  
Mi struggo e mi tormento  
O Dio, vorrei morir_

_Babbo, pietà, pietà  
Babbo, pietà, pietà"_

_She smiles wide at the end of the song and looks directly at the camera. "And there's the talent to back me up, I do hope that you consider me and I hope that you have a wonderful day."_

"Oh, she is _so_ gonna expose everyone's secrets," said Chris menacingly, feeling much better after the previous audition inexplicably rendered him to tears.

Chef shrugged. "I don't know. She seems too nice for that."

"This is Total Drama. They don't stay nice for long." He motioned for Chef to play the next audition. This time, it was from a girl named Gemini.

_A girl sat in a bay window, bathed in sunlight holding a guitar. She strummed it softly and hummed a pretty little tune to herself. After a few moments, she stopped strumming and stared at the camera. "I do more than play guitar. I dance. I produce. I song-write. I can smell a Scorpio from a mile away. I got it all, my dudes." She continued to strum. "I've dated a lot of musicians. Like. A lot. More than I'm comfortable disclosing." She bit her lip and closed her grey eyes. "Let's just say I have a LOT of songs about me. Some would call me a groupie. Hey, I like what I like. But I'm ready to be the one making the songs and making people fall in love with me. I want to be the heartbreaker for once." She stopped strumming and looked into the distance, her eyes clouded with something. "Man, I hate Scorpios." _

Chris leaned over to Chef and stage-whispered, "Make sure we have at least 5 Scorpios on the show."

Chef rolled his eyes. "I don't even know what a Scorpio is. Those are the ones with their moon in Gatorade right?"

Chris shrugged. "Beats me. Play the next one, Maestro!"

Chef obliged and selected the audition by a young man called Hayato.

_Hayato took a deep breath as he turned on his camera. He soon smiled. "Hello Total Drama. My name is Hayato and I would like to be apart of your show to show off my dancing to the world." He said, scratching the back of his neck a bit. "Dancing has always been apart of my life besides acting and I want to show others that they follow their dreams!" He added. His face soon flushed at what he just said and looked away quickly. "A-Anyway I'll be doing a hip-hop routine and I hope you like it." Hayato soon got up and got to position. Timbaland's The Way I Are song began to play as Hayato began his routine. After his routine, he panted slightly. "Well I hope you enjoyed and hope you consider me!" He exclaimed, waving to the camera before turning it off._

"Kid's got some moves," Chris noted. "Wonder how long that'll last."

Chef replied, "we'll just have to see," and hit the next video which was submitted by a kid named Ivan.

_The video begins with a touch of ceremony- a classy fade from black and warbling violin music- classical, original composition. The subject doesn't fit the fancy touches, though. A haggard looking teenage boy with deep bags under his eyes and in dire need of a hairbrush, the subject looks like he might've wandered into the filming by accident. Eyes closed with concentration, he finishes the piece and gently lays the bow and violin down on his lap before looking into the camera with a thin, nervous smile. _

_"Uh... hi. My name is Ivan Pertovich, and that was an, um, original piece of mine. You'll have to excuse my nerves, it's been a while since I've sat in front of cameras. You might have heard of me- ...God, I'm sorry, that sounded pretentious. But, uh, I won a lot of awards and stuff when I was younger, for violin and stuff. I write music too though. I write a lot of my own compositions. I do mostly classical, but I can play pretty much anything that involves a violin in some shape or form- ah, excuse me, I'm rambling." Ivan swallows before staring into the camera again. "But, yeah, I think you should pick me for your show because I feel like I have a pretty good chance of winning, and I feel like I owe it to my mom to try and compete at least just one more time. And besides, I used to perform professionally, so I could maybe bring a little bit of a larger audience? I mean, your show is pretty small in Russia, yeah. We're not big on reality T.V. But, um. Yeah. One washed up celebrity to another- I think I can bring a lot to the table." _

Chris squinted his eyes. "Man, has this kid never heard of a haircut?"

"Or a nap?" Chef asked. "Next is somebody named Jalen." He hit play on the video.

_A pair of hazel eyes is the only thing seen when the camera is switched on. It then zooms out to reveal a boy of white ethnicity complete in a suit with his jet black hair neatly combed. He is in a small room dominated by posters of Frank Sinatra. "Helloooo total drama" he says with a deep, velvety voice., "This Jalen Blankenship with his good looks and devilish charm on your auditions, with a voice guaranteed to make the ladies show their assets on camera". His face then morphs into one of horror after realizing what he had said. "Uh... I mean with a voice that is... Nice on the ears? Oh god! I'm already objectifying women! There goes all my respect from the female fans!" His voice has lost it's alluring quality into a rather squeaky voice. _

_A bang is then heard on the door accompanied by a female voice "keep it down in their Blankenship! People are trying to sleep!" Jalen gives a quick "sorry!" Before there are footsteps signaling a retreat from the figure. "I suppose you want a performance from me? Well I'm going to give it one hell of a go!" His face takes on a quizzical expression as he murmurs to himself for around 15 seconds. He then brightens up. "Of course! My favourite song! Ladies (hopefully) and gentlemen! I will perform an all time favourite! Moonlight on Vermont by the guy who is all around my room! Time to start the music!"_

_The tape then ends._

"Whew, get a load of this guy. He's gonna offend so many people without even knowing it!" Chris barked out a laugh.

Chef joined in. "That'll be a sight." He began to play the next video titled, "TDTTS Audition: Janice".

_We get a view of her bedroom which was almost black all over._

_"Hello." Janice waves boldly at the camera. "So, yeah, I don't really care if I pass or not, but if I did, I'd be really glad because I do not want to live in this house anymore because of my dad."_

_She sighed a bit._

_"I hope you can pick me because, like, I can sing pretty good, but I am mostly into dancing, into acrobatics and stuff. I do not want to go further why I have decided to choose dancing. It brings bad memories."_

_She shudders a bit before continuing._

_"Although, I can show you guys some of my singing talent if you don't mind." She clears her throat. "Ahem. Okay, here goes... Everybody loves to tell me I was born an old so-"_

_"Janice!" Her mom can be heard yelling. "Where is that camera I'm asking you to bring down!?"_

_"I-uh... wait a second mom!" Janice yelled pretty much annoyed. "So yeah, got no time to show you what I've got, but I'll show once I'm in! Thank you!"_

_*end audition*_

"Wonder what her deal is?" Chef asked as Chris got up to stretch.

"Who knows. I hope these kids don't expect us to hire therapists. The producers 'highly recommended' we have on-site therapy but unless I get a court order I'm not doing it!" He leaned backwards, cracking his back. "Dude, what time is it?"

Chef checked the time in the corner of the laptop screen. "Past 10:00 PM." Chris groaned.

"And we have how many of these left to watch again?"

"Ten," Chef deadpanned, equally tired.

"Wait…if we just watched, like, seventeen, shouldn't we only have seven left?!"

"You didn't get the text from Blaineley?"

Chris shook his head. "What text?" He ripped his phone out of his khakis pocket and scrolled through his message. The last thing he got from Blaineley was a middle finger emoji, and that was four days ago. "I definitely did not get a text."

"Oh, well, apparently she convinced the producers to move the contestant count up to 27, so now it's three teams of nine."

"Uh! I should've been notified of this?! I'm kinda the star of the series?!"

Chef scrubbed a hand under his chin. "Now that I think about it, I think Blaineley did text something about not wanting to tell you so you'd look like a dumbass on the first day of filming…" Chef had small smile on his face as he finished the sentence, sending Chris over the edge.

From outside of the hotel suite, a clear "DAMMIT BLAINELEY!" could be heard from down the hall.

* * *

**Opinions by Chris and Chef are not necessarily my own! I loved reading about each of these characters. This is only PART ONE of the auditions. As you can see this was getting seriously long so the rest will be posted tomorrow (around 3 PM EST). I already have the first real episode written so that'll either come out the same day (10 PM EST) or I'll hold off for a day because I don't want to spam people's emails with alerts lol. None of what I have planned could have been done without all of the amazing characters you guys submitted! Even if you didn't make it into TDTTS, I highly encourage you to submit to other SYOC stories because you guys have a lot of talent. It was honestly so hard I had to add three extra slots because I just couldn't choose. This does mean there isn't an equal number of guys and girls unfortunately. But, each team will have the same amount of players and that's the most important thing!I really appreciate all the support for this! This is my first TD fic and it's amazing how welcoming the fandom is. I'll be messaging back everyone who got in for the second round after this goes live.**

Here's the official cast of Total Drama Takes The Stage! (**Bold** are the ones included in this chapter, _Italics_ are the ones included in the next chapter):

GUYS

1._ Zavier Townsend (The Soundcloud Rapper)- purplepancakes_  
2\. **Aaron Tomas Alvarez (The Troy Bolton)- blankspace76xx**  
3\. **Andrew James Hanson (The Lounge Singer)- Skyn1nja123**  
4\. **Jalen Blakenship (The Not-So-Smooth Talker)- XxxInquistorXxx**  
5\. **Dustin Newton-Obsidian (The Mathematical Woodwind Player)- Obsidian Champion**  
_6\. Zane Dempsey (The Strategist)- Knifez_  
_ 7\. Leon Salvatore (The Lionheart Brawler)- Epifanio Therion_  
8\. **Dalton Sutter Jackson (The Country Boy)- maria**  
9\. **Hayato Mutsumi (The Pretty Boy Tsundere)- Singer97**  
10\. **Kim Daewon (The Wannabe K-Pop Idol)- jun2017**  
11\. **Devon Maurice Richardson Jr. (The Preacher's Son)- Amazonian Amethyst**  
12\. **Fifi Chiara (The Pagliacci/Sad Clown)- Solfeggio Kant**

13\. **Ivan Pertovich (The Burnt-Out Child Prodigy)- A La Orange**

_14\. Jordan Jermaine Townsend (The Comeback Story)- ThatKiddJordy_

GIRLS

1\. **Eleanor Evangeline Graham (The Mouse)- blankspace76xx**  
2.** Janice Alexandra Marlick (The Classy Dancer)- Candela Monsoon**  
** 3\. Genevieve Duprée (The Imposing Psychologist)- GingerFrancophone**  
_4\. Millie Noel Roberts-Chang (The Broadway Expert)- purplepancakes_  
5\. **Ariana Contessa Maverelli (The Youtube Ice Queen)- maria**  
_6\. Luna Burmont (The Un-Snobby British Rich Girl)- JG243_  
_ 7\. Kirstin Rea Laverre (The Aggressive Waltzer)- Ecliptic Plasma_  
_ 8\. Rina Belle (The Confident Singer)- Space Zodiac_  
9\. **Brianna Hanami (The Misunderstood Idol)- Singer97**  
_10\. Twilight Spooner (The Pastel Goth)- Lorelee13_  
11\. **Erica Nunez (The Street-Smart Girl)- Rebecca Morales**  
_12\. Nadine Arlene Richardson (The Preacher's Daughter)- Amazonian Amethyst_

13\. **Gemini Malheswaran (The Groupie)- Mine**


	4. Roasting the Contestants (PART 2)

Chris yawned. "We should just get this over with. If I have to dedicate another day to watching these, I'll get wrinkles."

"Fine by me," affirmed Chef, gearing up to play the next set of auditions. "This one's by a fella named Jordan."

_He'd probably be hesitating to apply, just as he's in a crossroad in his life but a friend told him to try it. "Alright. I'm not too sure how will go, but a friend of mine told me to go for it, and here goes." He begins, lightly padding against the ground as his friend began to record. "My lover's got humor, she's the giggle at a funeral..." he began, beginning to belt triumphantly at each Amen, dragging each note out before realizing he'd been too into it, shaking his head as his friend still recorded as he finished the song._

_"And if you didn't like that, I can do this." He began, as his friend tossed a ball near his foot before it rocketed toward the goal away from midfield. "Crossbar!" He half yelled before a ping could be heard. "Yeah. If you liked that, then there might be more in store if you pick me I suppose. Promise. So cheers. And pick me." He shrugged, walking off screen._

"Another jock-turned-singer I see," observed Chef.

Chris reached over to select the next video. "And here I thought it would just be noodle-limbed theater geeks and guitar-playing potheads." The video began to play of a girl named Kirstin.

_"Hello there *censored* *censored* out there! I'm Kirsten, and I've been called a cheater, a bully, and you know all those stupid things that can make you feel bad. I'm here to show you all that I'm not a girly Barbie girl but a really tough kid and if you underestimate me, you deserve a kick in the butt." Kirsten smirked as she flips her hair tauntingly at the camera._

_"KIRSTEN! ARE YOU MAKING UP SOME RANDOM S*** AGAIN!?" her cousin, Faith, yelled._

_"NO I'M NOT! JUST F*** SHUT UP, FELICITY!" Kirsten ranted and kicked the camera, making it fall._

_"Whoops." she said and she set it back up._

_"Anyway, I hope you pick me because then, villains are not always villains." Kirsten explained before realizing what she just said. "Oh, wait, that came out wrong. Sorry, I forgot what I was going to say. Sheesh... Just pick me, and thanks a lot..."_

"Yeah," Chris began. "This girl and the other potty mouth from the last set of auditions are gonna get along just fine."

"Or tear each other apart," Chef gave a dark chuckle and selected the next audition, which was split into two parts and sent by a boy named Leon.

_Audition Tape 1: _

_It shows Leon in a gym, wearing his training gear, lifting weights and sweating a lot. Leon suddenly turns toward the camera, with a confused look on him and started speaking._

_"Um, Jean? What are you doing? And why do you have a camera with you?" Jean answered "Oh sorry there Leo, it's just that I remember you mentioning that you wanted to enter for Total Drama, sssoooo~ I thought since maybe you didn't do your audition tape for it, I thought I can make one for you"._

_Leon confused looked clear up, and he then gave a cheerful smile "Ah, why thank you so much for doing this, Jean" Leon puts the weight where it was and positions himself toward the camera "Let me Introduced myself" He suddenly started aiming at the camera in a dramatic way and started shouting "MY NAME IS LEON SALVATORE, BUT YOU MAY CALL ME LEO!" Jean stared at Leon with a deadpan expression, and Leon started to squirm. "Uh what's wrong Jean?" Jean keep staring at him and then shook his head and told Leon keep going. Leon coughed. "Anyway... the reason I want to enter Total Drama is because I wish to experience many thing, I would like to make more friends, and if I win the money, I would use it to help an orphanage that is nearby that is having money issues, and I might possibly use the rest to help me improve myself, so I might see a chance for me to be able to enter for MMA". Jean suddenly did a quick motion with his hand signaling to hurry up._

_Leon started to strike a dramatic pose as if finishing touches for the audition tape "HAHA, I DO HOPE YOU MIGHT PICK ME FOR YOUR SHOW, Y QUE TENGA UN EXCELENTE Y GRANDIOSO DÌA!"_

_Suddenly someone shouted "YO BRO, WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOUR LEFT ARM?!"_

_Leon froze, then dropped his dramatic pose and started rubbing his left arm with a tired expression and sigh, Jean started shouting at the guy who shouted about Leon's left arm "Go to ***, Dereck you bast…, oh shoot I need to edit this part out" and he turned off the camera._

_*Audition tape Stops Recording*_

_Audition Tape 2:_

_It shows Leon standing in a music studio with two unknown people standing beside him._

_Leon gave a smile toward the camera and started to speak "Hello there, dear audience, in this audition tape will be showing my performance by dancing and singing the first half of 'The Cup of Life' by Ricky Martin, due to my buddy here". Leon suddenly hugs the person with one arm in his left side "Introduce yourself Therion!"_

_The warm beige black hair Puerto Rican male with brown eyes started speaking "Um... yeah, my name is Therion Suarez..." Therion look at Leon with an glare "Can you let go of me...? you know I don't like getting touched by people" Leon laugh and let go of Therion. Leon introduced the person standing to his right side "And this is Cynthia Snowpoint, Introduce yourself Cynthia"_

_The Half-British and Half-Japanese albino girl with blue and silver (she has partial heterochromia) eyes introduced herself "Umm.. H-hello there, it's a pleasure meeting you..." Cynthia started speaking with a shy voice, but suddenly she got energetic. "And I came to help Leon as his moral support and dancer!" Cynthia jumped at Leon and hugged him and Leon return by giving her an bear hug "AHH! ESTOY AGRADECIDO POR EL APOYO Y FELICIDAD QUE ME ESTA DANDO!" Leon quickly looked at Therion and gave a pouty face at him, Therion looked slightly confused "What?" Leon recovered himself. "Anyway, I will start to sing and dancing, Therion will record the video and Cynthia will join in by dancing with me, I hope you enjoy it" and everything went black._

_The light turned on in the middle where Leon was standing with an mic in front of him and had his eyes closed, and the music suddenly started playing and Leon open his eyes and began dancing and singing._

_Leon stopped singing and dancing with Cynthia, then they both bowed and Leon stepped in front and started speaking, with the camera focused on him, it showed he was slightly sweating. "Okay..., Here was my performance, you might have realized I didn't complete the song, but... I want it to keep you guys on suspense, so I hope you pick me and have a great day, FAREWELL!"_

_*Video stops recording*_

Chris' line of sight went from the television screen to his now empty bag of popcorn. "That guy sure has…a lot of energy."

Chef took the time to lick some butter from his fingers while Chris wasn't looking. "Hey," he said once he was done savoring the buttery goodness. "He'll need that energy in this game." He used his non-licked fingers to move on to the next video, submitted by a Luna.

_A girl is shown in front of what looks like a recording studio. "Hey guys!" The girl starts to speak "My name's Luna. And I'm here to audition to TDI Takes the Stage. I should be chosen because I can hit pretty much all notes possible, I can edit anything into everything." Around here, the background changes to an alien spaceship "Now, if all's right, I should inside a UFO right now. So, yeah, now I should start singing by now. So, enjoy." She starts singing Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. Every note is perfect. Nothing is missed. Everything is perfect. The editing is like the music video, including the four face thing.  
"So yeah, please put me in. Bye!"_

Chef was fairly impressed by the audition. "Gotta admit, she's got some serious editing skills."

"You think she could edit a picture of me to make it look like I was in Venice right now?" Chris asked. "Because I really, _really_ want to be in Venice right now." Chef ignored the rhetorical request and went to the next audition, this time titled "Millie for TDTTS".

_The camera faces a teenage girl's bedroom absolutely covered in playbills and musical posters. From the new stuff like Dear Evan Hansen to classics like Sound of Music, it's on her wall. From out of nowhere, the owner of such a bedroom jumps on the giant bed in the center of the frame. "Good morning, good morning! It's great to stay up late, good morning, good morning to you!" She sings the song from another classic, Singin' in the Rain. She rolls around until she is sitting up on the bed. "Or good evening. I don't know what time it is in Canada. But! I have stayed up all night rehearsing for this. This may be the most important audition of my LIFE, and I've done a lot of auditions so that's saying a lot." The half-Asian girl turns to look at all of the posters on her wall. "As you can see, this is my life. This is my passion. What sets me apart from all the other people signing up is that I have a track record of success in this industry. I'm not just talking school musicals, though I've starred in all of them…" She starts counting on her fingers. "I've done commercial jingles, been in a nationwide travelling tour of CATS, and got a callback to be in the Broadway cast of Matilda: The Musical a couple years ago. I'm serious about this. I want to be the next Idina Menzel, and it will happen so help me God—" _

"_Millie, who are you talking to?" Came a voice from downstairs. Millie blushes. "I'm auditioning for that thing I told you about Poppa!" She slaps a hand to her forehead. "They never remember, I swear. Now, prepare to be amazed by my performance of Memory from CATS, which, again, I starred in." She sung the song as if she had sung it a thousand times, probably because she had… (END VIDEO)_

"She reminds me of Courtney if Courtney had been a psycho theater geek," said Chris, who then motioned for Chef to go to the next video. The older man clicked on the audition simply labelled "Nadine".

_The camera shows a short African American girl with her hair in braids tied back was wearing an orange peplum dress and flats, clearly dressed in her Sunday Best. She clears her throat and shuffles side to side where she stands in her room. "My name is Nadine Richardson, my friends call me Nadie though. I'm singing Lions, Tigers, and Bears by Jazmine Sullivan." She clears her throat again and begins singing. Her voice is powerful and she sings with her whole body. She doesn't hold back at all. When she finishes she sighs. "Wow…I haven't sung like that in such a long time. Y'see…the reason I'm signing up for this show is because I've always been told to go to the sidelines and…and I'm just sick of it! I'm tired of downplaying myself for other people!" She starts to pace around the room, kicking off her flats in the process. She starts quoting things people have said to her. "If you sing too loud you'll make the other choir girls jealous. If you wear that to the neighborhood block party people will think you're a hoe. If you have opinions different from us people will think we're bad parents. Ugh!" She didn't realize how loud she was until her older brother, Devon, appeared at her door. _

"_Now why on Earth are you yelling?" _

"_None of your business Devon, get out."_

"_No…why are you recording yourself? You're not auditioning for that Total Drama Show are you?" He says the show name with disgust. The show was banned in their home. _

"_And if I am, so what? If I get in, I'm going, and there's nothing you or mom or dad can do to stop me."_

_Devon mutters. "We'll see about that…" and left the room. Nadine gaped at the door, confused before she could hear her brother recording his own audition video. "UGH!" The camera cut off after that. _

"Ha, looks like we found the other half to the matching set," realized Chris.

Chef nodded. "The boy may be aggravating, but I love me a good sibling rivalry." He cued up the next video. "This one's by Rina."

_"Hello everyone!" Rina began, sitting in what seemed to be a classroom. "I'm here to audition for Total Drama. I think I'd be the perfect fit."_

_"Why you may ask? Well, I'll be one of the most poised, competent competitors with the ability to win. I'll use my take no prisoners strategy and soar!"_

_"Well, I hope you'll accept me!"_

_"Rina... Shouldn't you showcase your talent'?" A female voice said off-camera._

_"Oh my gosh! Kaz, you're totally right!"_

_Rina starts singing an opera song, but as soon as she reached the chorus, the camera ended up cracking. Realizing what she's done, she runs up to the camera, but it goes to static._

"Is it just me, or do we have a lot of opera singers?"

"Imagine all of them in a room together, trying to out-yodel each other…" Chef joked.

"We'll have to keep anything made of glass away from them if that video was any indication." Chris usually didn't care about potential injuries—in fact he encouraged them—but the last thing he needed was something he could be held liable for. Any and all injuries would have to be caused by the contestants themselves. He gave a forlorn sigh at the thought. "Next video?"

"Some girl named Twyla." He started the tape.

_When the audition tape is turned on you see a very colorful teenager covered with eccentric colors: a big bow, pink eyes, pale skin, a frilly dress, pink frilly umbrella; not quite a clown but almost. She is a pastel goth, a rare beauty, and the teen was licking a large colorful lollipop and humming softly. She looks to the camera and smiles kindly and in a quiet soft voice says, "oh my hello. I'm Twyla hi (waves a pink gloved hand) (giggles) so as you can tell, I'm a pastel goth. It's my way of life and I'm quite fond of it. I hope you don't think too poorly of me; I wouldn't want that...but it's who I am so if you do like what you see choose me please. Um…thank you..." she looks away sighing...END!_

Chris stared at the screen for a moment before saying, "That was…different. She's very…colorful!"

Chef shrugged. "I guess we got two clowns this season." He started the next video, by a boy named Zane.

_A camera buzzes to life and Zane is there, sitting down. His room is rather shabby and bare. "Hey Total Drama," he says placidly, "my name is Zane Dempsey." He crosses his arms and leans back in his chair. "I think I'd be great for this season because I'm a great deep voice singer, and I can rock the piano!" His grin fades slightly and he grows more serious. "Also, I really know how to ramp up the drama without coming across as a tacky sadistic villain. I'll do what I need to get that money, and I'll sing well while doing it." He smirks._

"All I heard was 'drama' and 'sadistic'," went Chris. "He's my new favorite!"

"I think _you_ might just be our third clown, Chris," muttered Chef under his breath. Before Chris could process what he said, he hit the play button on the final video, titled "Zavier's Interlude".

_The camera faces a boy in a makeshift recording studio. It's a very unprofessional set up from what we can see. A cheap microphone from Amazon sits in the corner of the screen, turned towards the boy's mouth. Without saying anything, the boy pushes a button on his laptop and a beat starts playing. He raps his audition over the beat:_

_Hey my name's Zavier, call me King Z_

_There really ain't nobody better than me_

_I got mad Soundcloud followers, they all like my style_

_But I haven't made big moves in a while_

_That's why I need Chris to hook ya boy up_

_And pour a lil money into my cup_

_I got flair I was there, just like Fran Fine_

_Maybe after I win I'll take Blaineley out to dine AHA- (END VIDEO) _

Chris was on the floor quite literally heaving with laughter by the end of the video. Chef was slung over the armrest of the sofa, his composure long gone. Tears were in both the men's eyes, but this time there was no shame about their presence.

"Please! Please…" Chris started pounding the floor with his fist. "Please tell me Blaineley's seen this!"

Chef took a deep breath, trying his hardest to calm himself down. "Nope, her and Don got to look at the applications but we're the only ones that get to watch these…these—"

"Absolute _gems_," Chris finished for the other man. He wiped a tear from his eye. "You cannot make this stuff up! Please tell me there's more."

"Nuh uh, that's it. We've sat through all 27 audition tapes."

"That's cuh-razy, man. I thought that would never end and here I am wanting even more laughing material." He sat back on the sofa, now oddly relaxed after his fit. Maybe it was delirium from the lack of sleep. "Know what, Chef? We've got a pretty good haul this time around."

"We sure do," he said, closing the laptop and disconnecting the cord from the television. He was exhausted after spending the entire day in Chris's hotel suite looking through the applications and auditions, but it was a productive day, nonetheless. That was always something to be proud of. "We sure do."

* * *

**There you have it! Each of the 27 contestants have had their auditions posted and have been thoroughly roasted by Chris and Chef. Again, their opinions are not necessarily my own! Thanks again to everyone who submitted. With all these varying personalities, this season will prove to be very interesting. The first episode will be out soon (either today or tomorrow). Thanks so much for reading and stay tuned! **

Total Drama Takes the Stage Contestants: 

GUYS

1\. Zavier Townsend (The Soundcloud Rapper)- purplepancakes  
2\. Aaron Tomas Alvarez (The Troy Bolton)- blankspace76xx  
3\. Andrew James Hanson (The Lounge Singer)- Skyn1nja123  
4\. Jalen Blakenship (The Not-So-Smooth Talker)- XxxInquistorXxx  
5\. Dustin Newton-Obsidian (The Mathematical Woodwind Player)- Obsidian Champion  
6\. Zane Dempsey (The Strategist)- Knifez  
7\. Leon Salvatore (The Lionheart Brawler)- Epifanio Therion  
8\. Dalton Sutter Jackson (The Country Boy)- maria  
9\. Hayato Mutsumi (The Pretty Boy Tsundere)- Singer97  
10\. Kim Daewon (The Wannabe K-Pop Idol)- jun2017  
11\. Devon Maurice Richardson Jr. (The Preacher's Son)- Amazonian Amethyst  
12\. Fifi Chiara (The Pagliacci/Sad Clown)- Solfeggio Kant

13\. Ivan Pertovich (The Burnt-Out Child Prodigy)- A La Orange

14\. Jordan Jermaine Townsend (The Comeback Story)- ThatKiddJordy

GIRLS

1\. Eleanor Evangeline Graham (The Mouse)- blankspace76xx  
2\. Janice Alexandra Marlick (The Classy Dancer)- Candela Monsoon  
3\. Genevieve Duprée (The Imposing Psychologist)- GingerFrancophone  
4\. Millie Noel Roberts-Chang (The Broadway Expert)- purplepancakes  
5\. Ariana Contessa Maverelli (The Youtube Ice Queen)- maria  
6\. Luna Burmont (The Un-Snobby British Rich Girl)- JG243  
7\. Kirstin Rea Laverre (The Aggressive Waltzer)- Ecliptic Plasma  
8\. Rina Belle (The Confident Singer)- Space Zodiac  
9\. Briana Hanami (The Misunderstood Idol)- Singer97  
10\. Twilight Spooner (The Pastel Goth)- Lorelee13  
11\. Erica Nunez (The Street-Smart Girl)- Rebecca Morales  
12\. Nadine Arlene Richardson (The Preacher's Daughter)- Amazonian Amethyst

13\. Gemini Malheswaran (The Groupie)- Mine


	5. I Wanna Be Famous (PART 1)

**Hi everyone! Thank you so much for the support on this! I uploaded this a couple days later than I intended, it was my mom's birthday yesterday so I was out all day. But here's the first episode of Total Drama Takes the Stage! This is PART ONE of the ep because if I posted the entire thing in one chapter it'd be over 12,000 words and nobody's trying to sit read through that in one sitting lol. PART TWO will be uploaded tomorrow around the same time. Enjoy!**

**Warning: Mention of Drugs and some Foul Language (It's as much cursing as the T rating will allow me so it's not every other sentence lol) **

* * *

A once-beloved theater on the outskirts of downtown Toronto sat in darkness. A scandal years ago turned what had been the musical hub of the city into a desolate and disregarded den of disarray. The stage was covered in dust, the curtains drenched in mold, and the folding chairs falling apart.

"You can't possibly want this place," said the real estate agent as they surveyed the structure for their client. "You said you start filming in a couple months, right? There's no way you'll be able to turn it around in time."

The voice on the other line snorted. "Believe me, we've done it before. We're also gonna need the old recording studio that's next door." The real estate agent nearly dropped her phone in shock.

"_That_ place? You _do_ know what happened there right? It's kinda the reason every place on this street closed down?"

"Hey," replied the voice. "It's show business. We don't judge."

The agent, in her confusion at her client's request, walked aimlessly into a cobweb. She screamed at the contact yet somehow managed to not drop the phone. After rubbing her face and divesting herself of the web, she growled into the phone, "You want a bunch of kids to sleep in an old _meth lab_?"

"What? The reports said it was a crackhouse, not a meth lab! Even I have morals, you know!"

"Mr. McLean," said the agent. "Those rock stars made just about _everything_ in that studio. Bottom line, you can't expect to get away with housing minors in there."

"Listen Miss…" Chris trailed off. He had always been awful with names he wasn't forced to remember for a show. He coughed to cover up the slip. "I've housed minors on radioactive islands with mutant creatures and killer sharks. I think these kids can handle a condemned drug haven. They wanna be famous, right?"

The agent pulled the phone away from her ear and just stared at it. Chris' contact information flashed on the screen and she nearly considered calling the police. She shook her head and brought it back to her ear. "This is why I don't let my kids watch your shows, Mr. McLean."

Instead of an answer, all the real estate agent received was a laugh. She clicked the end call button before he could say anything else. Surveying the area one last time, she sighed. _At least it'll bring some money back into the area._

**_.__.._**

* * *

Two months later, the theater, The Centerstage, stood tall. The fluorescent white sign read "Welcome Contestants!" and an intern was manning the box office. Next door, the recording studio had been completely remodeled into half studio, half dorms. No one would have guessed that just two months ago, the two buildings had been absolute hot messes.

"Say Chris," started Don. He, Chris, and Blaineley were sitting at the Coaches Table that was situated right in front of the grand thrust stage. "Wasn't the studio next door an opium den, or something?"

Chris held up a hand to silence the younger man. "We don't talk about that."

Blaineley chose this time to sip her iced coffee loudly. "We should probably talk about that."

Chris groaned internally. "I'll give a quick disclaimer once the contestants are here and they can choose to leave if that bugs them, 'kay? After that, I'm not liable. At least that's what the company's lawyers said."

Don and Blaineley shared a pointed look before shrugging in unison. At that time, the intern that had been manning the box office ran into the theater and squeakily yelled, "they're here!" The three hosts exchanged glances. This was it. This was their chance to put the Total Drama series back on the map and into the homes of millions.

Chris leaned back in his chair and perched his feet on the table. "Let 'em in!" He yelled back. "Don, Blaineley, Chef," he addressed. Chef was seated at his own personal table down stage left. He would not only orchestrate the mini challenges but also judge the performances. Chris points finger guns at the cameraman to get him to start filming. "It's showtime."

Twenty-seven teens of all different sizes and backgrounds were shown waiting outside of The Centerstage. Some looked eager, some looked nervous, some looked confident, and some looked like they'd rather be literally anywhere else. But they all were there regardless, and, in that moment, all equal.

That wouldn't last for long.

Once they were given the go-ahead to enter the building, they flooded in, a couple of the smaller teens getting nearly trampled in the process. As they filed down the middle of the aisle that led to the stage, Chris began to speak.

"Welcome back to another season of Total Drama! They tried to keep this chiseled face off your TVs, but they failed. Now, we're back and better than ever with Total! Drama! Takes the Stage!" He lifted his arms in the air as he shouted. "In this competition, 27 teens from all over the world will have a chance to show off their talent through singing, dancing, or playing an instrument. Each episode, they'll have to compete in musical challenges that determine whether they get to stay or have to sing the blues on their way out. The grand prize? $500,000 and a record or performance deal! Do these guys have what it takes to perform themselves to victory? Let's find out." The contestants were now organized into a single-file line right in front of the stage steps by the intern. "Get ready to meet the first of our contestants, Rina!" Rina, being the first in line, realized this was her cue. The French girl knew she had done the right thing by getting to the theater an hour early; now she would be the first one to make an impression.

Her pastel blue ponytail that was segmented into three parts swung back and forth as she marched with confidence to the center of the stage where the microphone stood. The bright spotlight made her pearl hair-ties glisten. Her height forced her to lean down slightly so her voice could be properly picked up by the mic. "Hi everyone," she greeted with a small smile. "I'm Rina, and I can't wait to get this competition started." She tilted her head in a way that would've seemed sweet except for the almost dangerous gleam in her eyes.

She walked off the stage and Chris called the next contestant. "Dalton!"

A very tall young man sporting a beige cowboy hat atop his curly, dirty blonde hair hopped up on the stage, waving out in the direction of the cameras. He had a pep in his step, and he gripped the mic stand with both hands, steadying himself. "Howdy, everybody. I hope y'all are having a good time on this lovely mornin'. I know I sure am!" He smiled brightly, revealing a small gap between his front two teeth. "Let's make the best of this summer, ya hear?" He bowed his head and hopped right off the stage, forgoing the stares on the other end.

Before Chris could announce the next person's name, Jalen mounted the stage. He walked with an awkward sort of swagger; his stride was just a little too stiff to pull it off. He also gripped the stand once he reached it, but only with one hand as his other fit snuggly into his white suit jacket. A grey fedora covered his black hair. "Why hello," he began in a deep, suave voice. There was a twinkle in his hazel eyes. "How are all you beautiful ladies doing tonight?" He was met with silence. That is, until one of the girls waiting in line, Kirsten, yelled, "it's literally 10 in the morning, you dumbass!" Jalen blanched at the realization. He began fiddling with his black tie and cleared his throat. "I knew that," he said, before making a quick exit off the stage.

"Okay…" went Chris. "Anyway, next is Eleanor!" Eleanor jumped at the sound of her name being called. She looked behind her, seemingly hoping that there was another Eleanor that needed to go up there. Chris rolled his eyes. "Yes, I mean _you_."

The half Black half Native Hawaiian girl frowned. She walked on the stage slowly, without any of the enthusiasm the previous contestants had. She wrung her hands together as she spoke. "My…my name is…I-I'm—"

"Could you speak up? You're right in front of a microphone and we still can't hear you," interrupted Don. Eleanor sighed, the mic picking up the harsh sound. Her face slightly reddened and her honey brown eyes went wide.

"Thanks for having me!" She blurted, and promptly ran off the stage. Blaineley snickered into her manicured hand.

"Imagine joining a show like this and having stage fright," she whispered to Don. He nodded.

"The poor thing will be gone by next episode." Before the other two hosts could exchange more words, Chris called the next contestant.

"Hayato, you're up!" At the sound of the name, someone who was definitely not Hayato's ears perked up. She hadn't heard that name in years. _Could it be?_

A small boy, perhaps the smallest of the male contestants, marched onto the stage. "Hello," he said quietly with a Japanese accent. He shook his light brown hair from off his forehead and intoned, "Bother me, and I'll make your death look like an accident." Some of the contestants laughed uncomfortably at this, others rolled their eyes, believing that a boy so scrawny couldn't possibly lay a finger on them. Only one person looked at him with adoration. _It really is him, _she thought.

The pale boy casually left the stage as if he just hadn't threatened everyone's lives. Chris took it in stride. "Come on up, Dustin!"

A tall Filipino boy with neatly done black hair ran up the stage with enough energy to make up for Eleanor's shyness and Hayato's stoicism. "Hi everyone, I'm super excited to be here! I really want to show everyone that STEM subjects and the arts can go together! I'm a prime example," he said, pointing his thumb at himself. He finished with a wave at the camera for his two brothers back home and exited the stage.

Chris called the next one. "Twyla!"

A girl fully decked out in pastel hues of pink skipped on the stage. She was covered in frills from head to toe: from her frilly pink dress to the equally frilly parasol she swung in her hands. A giant pink bow rested on her pastel rainbow hair. Don whispered to Blaineley, "That much pink is making me nauseous. You wouldn't happen to have an ibuprofen, would you?" Blaineley shook her head, equally miffed by the girl's presentation.

Twyla took the lollipop out of her mouth to speak. "I'm Twyla, I hope we can all get along. If we don't, that's okay. You can judge me as much as you want." And with that, she continued skipping off the stage.

The next contestant, a pale boy named Zane, muttered "you don't have to tell me twice," and approached the microphone. He swung his shaggy brown hair out of his hazel eyes. "I'm Zane, but you already knew that. I'll keep it short: we're all here to win so let's stay out of each other's way, okay? See ya." He gave a tiny salute and exited the stage.

The rest of the introductions went similarly, with Chris calling the names and each contestant trying to either wow or intimidate their competition.

"I cannot wait to collaborate with you guys," said Millie. The half Chinese girl performed jazz hands as she said, "I'm kinda a pro at this sort of thing, so just follow my lead and everything should be fine!" She straightened the purple headband on her short, dark brown hair. "Later!"

"Hi," said a ghost white, messy-haired boy named Ivan. His voice sounded groggy, which reflected the dark bags under his grey eyes. "Ready to compete." He tried to appear excited by smiling, but the Russian teen seemed so exhausted that it hardly reached his eyes.

"Genevieve here," spoke the tall, doe-eyed French-Canadian girl. She absently twirled her blonde ponytail before continuing her introduction. "I am very, very excited to get to know each and every one of you. This is going to be a remarkable experience for all of us." She waved a tanned hand at the camera and walked off.

"I am Leon!" Shouted a Spanish and Castilian young man of great height. His hair was probably his most distinct feature, as it was a literal mane of shoulder-length blonde hair with orange highlights. He peered his blue eyes over his dark sunglasses. "I love making friends, so please feel free to approach me!" He smiled a wide, open smile.

The next contestant, an attractive young blonde named Kirsten, was not as approachable. "I have only one thing to say: Do. Not. Fuck with me. Thank you!" The French-American cheekily winked one of her upturned blue eyes and stalked off the stage.

Drew, who was next up, said "we'll see about that…" and winked back at Kirsten once she was seated in the front row where the rest of the contestants who had already gone up waited. She raised two middle fingers at him. "Anyway, I'm Drew. Let's cut to the chase, shall we?" The handsome boy ran a tanned hand through his dark brown, windblown hair. This, not at all unbeknownst to him, caused some of the female and even a couple of the male contestants to look at him with awe. "Let's have some fun this summer, alright? I know I will be," he gave another pointed look to Kirsten and a couple other contestants before leaving the stage.

Brianna realized she was next and began to tug at her blonde hair with anxiety. The Japanese-American girl had completely forgotten what she had planned on saying. Now that she knew _he_ was there, how was she supposed to maintain her composure? _As if I had much of that to begin with, _she thought. She walked up the stage, wobbling a bit in her nervousness. She had to yank the microphone down on the stand as she was the second smallest person in the entire competition. Her skin grew impossibly paler as she scanned the theater for Hayato, but the spotlight made it hard for her to see farther than the Coaches Table. She gulped. "I can't do this," she gasped into the mic before fleeing the stage.

Blaineley tried to contain her laughter. "What is up with these guys? They _did_ know this was a musical competition before signing up, right?"

Zavier was next. The dark-skinned boy practically bounced to the microphone and grabbed it off the stand. "It's ya boy King Z!" He paused as if expecting a round of applause. When none came, he scratched at his stubble and continued. "My EP 'It's Tough Being King' just dropped last week. Swing by my room if you want a physical copy—it's free just for y'all for a limited time." He smiled, showing off a set of braces. "And for those of you at home, it's available on all streaming services and physical copies go on sale once I win this thing!" He punched a fist in the air and then quite literally dropped the mic. Unfortunately, this caused a loud screech to echo through the theater. Everyone covered their ears as the sound only increased. Zavier scrambled to pick up the mic and placed it back on the stand, effectively ending the audio torture. He laughed awkwardly and went "yikes…" before leaving.

A tiny, incredibly pale British girl with her black hair in a single braid was next. She approached the microphone with her hands in the pockets of her grey hoodie. She lowered the mic stand even further than Brianna had, as she stood at a miniscule 4'3. "I am Luna. I'm highly skilled and am ready to show that in competition." She had nothing more to say, and swiftly made her exit.

The next in line was another Brit, although he lived in the states. His skin was mocha brown and he had one of the more athletic builds of all the contestants. "Hi everyone, my name's Jordan. You can call me J.J. if you like." The spotlight captured the light brown tips of his otherwise black hair, which was faded on the sides. "Hope we all learn something about ourselves here." He looked slightly pensive as he touched his black chin curtain but appeared to shake off whatever the thought was. He bowed his head and walked off the stage.

A beautiful, dark-haired young woman of both Italian and Iranian descent walked on the stage with a model-like gait. The sleeves of her bohemian-inspired dress swung with each step. Before she could even speak, one of the girls—either Eleanor or Millie, she couldn't tell because of the spotlight—squealed, "I didn't know a Youtube star was here!" Ariana ducked her head at the praise, pretending to be humbled by it. In reality, she was already plotting to take whoever the fan was under her wing. "So, you probably already know, but I'm Tessa from Tessa's World. My real name's Ariana, though, so please call me that here if you don't mind." She clapped her long, dainty hands together. "You all seem really awesome and I hope we can become great friends!" She gave her trademark peace signs and was finished.

A fellow Italian followed, though he was also of Romanian descent. His name was Fifi Chiara, but he went only by his last name. Half of the room gasped at the site of him. "D-do not be alarmed at I—_my_ appearance," said the slim boy. His accent was thick and he seemed to struggle with his English. His face was covered in what could only be called clown makeup. It was not the gaudy reds and blues complete with a circular red nose of the average circus clown. Instead, it was the makeup of the Pagliacci, the sad clown archetype in Italian opera. His face was painted stark white, and black surrounded his eyes. The only other color was gold eyeliner that made his murky blue eyes pop. The rest of his skin was a mahogany color. "I have p-performed in operas all over Italy. My story was…is a tragic one, and I hope to share it with each of you in due time." He pressed his palms together and did a deep bow, allowing his black, shoulder-length hair to fall over his face. "Gratzi," was his parting word.

"So…we just have a literal clown competing against us and we're just cool with that? Okay, that's chill," went the next contestant, a girl with her dark hair in pigtails named Erica. "I don't really know what to say." The brown-skinned Puerto Rican girl rubbed at her large chocolate brown eyes. "Honestly, I'm just tired as hell. Why couldn't this have started until the afternoon, again?"

Chris looked back at Chef, who shrugged. "I…don't know?"

Erica rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she said, walking off the stage.

A Korean boy made his way onto the stage, moving with an effortless cool until he reached the mic. His pale, pink hair gleamed under the light. The lights also picked up the highlight makeup on his angular features. He spoke with a low voice. "It's an honor to be here. I'm ready to show the Korean music industry just what they're missing." He smirked directly into the camera. He said, "get ready, Total Drama," and left.

Janice was next. The thin Singaporean girl strut to the microphone in her black sandals and spoke with clarity. "Hey, I'm not gonna waste time with unnecessary introductions. I'll just show what I've got in our first challenge. See you guys then." The purple ends of her black hair swayed from side to side as she walked away.

When Aaron's name was called, he jogged to the mic and took a deep inhale. On his exhale, the brown-haired boy said, "Hey guys…not gonna lie, I'm kinda new to this, so go easy on me, okay?" He nervously fiddled with his nose piercing but stood tall. His fellow competitors were a tad stunned. Was the muscular Chicano admitting weakness so early into the show? He seemed to notice this himself and corrected with, "but not too easy! I still know my way around a little competition." He feigned bravado with a flash of a smirk, but ultimately waved goodbye and went to the other end of the theater.

Gemini took the stage next, pulling her grey beanie off her wavy black hair as she did so. She shoved what she could of the beanie into her dungarees pocket. "Hey dudes," the lanky Indian girl said. "At the end of the day, let's just make some great music, alright?"

"I'd like to make more than great music with you!" Yelled Jalen. Everyone, including Gemini, simply stared at him until he backed down with a small "sorry". Gemini snapped finger guns into the audience and jumped off the stage.

Nadine, realizing she was second to last, ran to the mic. Her brother had tricked her into arriving late in hopes that they'd be so behind that the show would go on without them. She was happy to see that that was not the case. The dark-skinned girl smoothed her peplum top and grinned so hard her eyes squinted and her dimples seemed deeper than usual. "I'm so excited to be here. I almost thought it would never happen. I'm an open book so feel free to visit me between challenges if you want!" She flipped her braids over her shoulder and practically floated away.

Last, but certainly not least, Devon made it to the stage. Enraged by Nadine's invitation to the other teens to 'visit' her—_She's making herself a target for any dastardly slimeball to take advantage of her!, _he thought—he stomped his way to the mic. "Look," said the bespectacled African-American boy. "Anyone, and I mean _anyone_ that even so much as breathes in the direction of my little sister is getting their behind beat. Period. I have nothing else to say." He joined his sister, who was now beyond embarrassed by her brother's threat and attempting to disappear, in the audience.

Chris brought back the attention on him with, "Those are our 27 contestants! We've been impressed, we've been threatened, we've been downright disturbed. What more will these crazy kids have to offer? Find out when we come back to Total! Drama! Takes the Stage!"

...

* * *

Chris, Don, and Blaineley appeared standing on the stage in front of the teens who were now all seated in the audience. "And, we're back with Total! Drama! Takes the Stage! Before the break our 27 contestants introduced themselves to the world, and to each other. Now, we're gonna take them on a little tour of our freshly remodeled premises while explaining how the game works." Chris motioned at Don for him to speak.

"The Centerstage is where all of the challenges will be held. There's a backstage area and a series of dressing rooms for you all to prepare for your performances." He pointed at the Coaches Table. "That is where we'll be sitting to watch you perform. Our job as coaches is to make sure that our team members make it past elimination each episode. While we can give our input on your performances, at the end of the day it's Chef who will be judging." The camera panned to Chef who was leaning against his own personal Judge Table. He nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"You'll be separated into three teams of nine. Team Chris, Team Blaineley, and of course, Team Don." He gestured to himself with pride. "When a team gets 1st place, they're safe and win a prize. When a team gets 2nd, they're also safe. When a team gets 3rd, they're up for elimination."

"Eliminations take place in the Green Room," stated Blaineley. "Most concert venues have a Green Room where the performers can relax before they go on. On this show, the Green Room is the _last_ place you want to be."

Chris nodded sagely. "That's right. And once you're eliminated, you can never come back. _Ever_." Chris glared at the contestants just to make sure they all understood that elimination would be it for them. No $500,000. No record deal. Nothing but crushed dreams. "Before challenges though, there will be mini challenges, orchestrated by none other than our very own Chef Hatchet."

Chef joined the hosts at the center of the stage and spoke. "The mini challenges determine who gets a privilege for the main challenge." He snickered. "Or a sabotage."

Chris joined him in his maniacal laughter. "Sabotages are definitely my new favorite part of this show. Basically, if you see anyone on another team—or even on your own team—as a threat, you can sabotage them right before the main challenge." Many of the teens grimaced at this information. They knew the show would be cutthroat, but sabotages just seemed unfair. Others were happy for this added twist and couldn't wait to utilize it.

Blaineley took up the job of explaining the merge. "Once there are only 12 contestants left, there will be a merge where it's everyone for themselves. Members on the team with the most 1st place wins by the time the merge happens get immunity for the first post-merge challenge. After that challenge, you're on your own." She crossed her arms and surveyed the audience. "Now, are you ready to see where you'll be staying?" The teens nodded their heads with varying levels of enthusiasm, so the three coaches and Chef led them outside and into the old recording studio next door.

Once everyone was situated in the main lobby, Chris received an elbow to the gut from Chef. "Okay, okay! I'm on it." He cleared his throat. "So, quick disclaimer: this place may or may not have been a meth lab or crackhouse or opium den—whatever. This place used to be owned by this mega rich rock star and his buddies and, well, c'mon you know how musicians are!" He was beginning to sweat. If they all dropped out of this before they could even finish filming the first episode the whole thing would go up in flames. "So, like, don't be surprised if you see a few stray needles, m'kay? We tried to clean up the best we could. And, by 'we', I mean the interns."

Twenty-seven blank stares bored into his soul. No one said a word until Devon screeched. "And you want us to _sleep_ here?!" Chris was going to say something along the lines of "beats sleeping outside", but Nadine shushed her brother before either male could go on a rant.

"As I was _saying_," went Blaineley. "This floor acts as the recording studio." She pointed to the double doors behind her. "Through there are the recording booths. There are sound mixers, editing software, you name it back there. You'll be using those in a challenge or two, but let's be real here, most of you won't ever get to see inside of them since they don't become really important until the merge. The only one you will regularly see is the smallest booth at the very end of the hall. That will act as your confessional where you can reveal your juiciest, darkest, innermost thoughts." She then jabbed her thumb at the stairwell. "The third floor is a dance studio, so you'll be able to practice your routines there. There's also the communal kitchen on that floor. That is the only kitchen in the entire building and the only place where you can hang out regardless of teams." She refrained from yawning, already bored with the spiel. "The second floor is where you'll be sleeping. It's a pretty big floor—not as big as the second floor of my new summer home in Bali—so it's been divided into three sections. Once you walk up the steps, one hall will lead to the Team Chris corridor, one will lead to the Team Blaineley corridor, and the other to Team Don's corridor. The boy's room is on the left and the girl's room is on the right. Yes, the bathrooms are communal, cry about it another time. At the end of each corridor is a little lounge where you can do whatever it is you kids do." Hayato raised his hand and Blaineley nodded at him to speak.

"We're not…sharing rooms, are we?" The idea of letting complete strangers into his personal space freaked out the typically independent boy.

**CONFESSIONAL: Hayato**

**"I don't like people touching my stuff, or looking at me, or even thinking about me. I mean, there is one person I wouldn't mind doing that…in fact, one of the girls here kinda reminds me of her…"**

"Dude," answered Chris. "Have you never seen an episode of Total Drama before? Uh-duh you have to share rooms." Hayato deflated in disappointment. "Any other potentially dumb questions?"

Janice raised her hand. "So, when do we find out where we're sleeping?"

Chris grinned. "Now that I don't mind answering! Your bags are all in a storage closet somewhere in here. They'll be waiting there while you guys complete your first mini challenge. Instead of giving you any special advantages, it'll determine which team you're on." His eyes filled with insurmountable glee. Anyone who knew Chris McLean knew that was never a good sign. "Care for a game of dodgeball?"

...

* * *

Everyone was now in a gymnasium that apparently had acted as the scandal-ridden rock star's personal gym. The adults sat on the bleachers while the teens stood in a circle around a line of red balls. "No offense, but what the hell does dodgeball have to do with singing and dancing?" Asked Erica. Rina nodded.

"I had the same question, except offense 100% intended."

Chris tossed a ball between his hands. "Nothing. It's just a TD classic and Chef and I wanted to bring it back." He threw the ball in no particular direction, resulting in it crashing into a window. "Room service will—dammit I'm not at a hotel anymore. Oh well. So! You all know how dodgeball works. You try to hit as many people as you can with the ball, if you get hit, you're out, blah blah. Since you're not on teams yet this is pretty much a free-for-all. Good luck!" And, with that, said free-for-all began.

Jordan and Aaron, the most athletic of the bunch, were the first two to grab a ball. Aaron, figuring Jordan would just block his throw with the ball already in his hands, instead threw his at Ivan. Ivan, who had been standing still and hoping he'd just be ignored, groaned and went to sit on the bleachers. Aaron picked up another ball and threw it at Brianna, who screamed at the contact. He shouted a "sorry!" at her.

Jordan managed to throw one at Millie (who glared at him and stomped to the bleachers) and another at Dustin (who had been too busy trying to calculate the trajectory at which he could throw a ball to hit one of the stronger members to notice he had been targeted). His throw wasn't nearly as good as his kick, but it was certainly working for him in the game.

Kirsten was holding her own, as well. She lodged the balls directly into the faces of almost every boy who had suspiciously eyed her that morning, which included Jalen and Zavier. She tried to hit Drew as well, but he used Twyla as a shield, resulting in the pastel goth to take the hit instead. Kirsten scoffed and moved on to someone else.

**CONFESSIONAL: Kirsten**

**"Really? You're such a punk bitch you'd use people as your little human shields? I'm gonna have so much fun pounding that guy." She blushed as soon as the words exited her mouth. "Not like that!"**

Leon was also making quite a few hits, particularly on Gemini, Devon, and Luna. He felt awful for doing so and hoped that they were still willing to talk to him after the mini challenge.

In her effort to duck a ball coming from Aaron, Nadine fell to the ground right in front of Leon. Realizing that she was mere seconds away from getting hit by the lion-haired boy, she shielded her face with her hands. Leon instead shook his head and helped her up. She looked at him with confusion. "Why are you helping me?"

"I wouldn't want to hit someone while they were already down! Are you okay?" Nadine looked at where Leon had been staring. She had a slight bruise on her knee from when she had fell.

"I'll be alright. Should be good by the time we have the main challenge." Leon shook his head again.

"Stand behind me. It wouldn't be fair if someone hit you right now!" Nadine didn't know if this was a set-up or not, but figured she didn't have much of a choice seeing how Aaron was still throwing balls at a break-neck speed. She hid behind the tall boy as he hit Genevieve.

Zane noticed this and raised an eyebrow. He had just barely been making it through the game. He didn't even bother with throwing any balls because he knew they wouldn't have landed on a single soul. Instead, he held a ball in his hand and used it to block as many hits as he could. What he lacked in strength he made up for with strategy. He didn't like being on the defense, but it was better than being out.

Still noticing Nadine behind Leon, he weighed his options. He could forfeit himself to the potential hits coming from Aaron, Jordan, Dalton, or Kirsten by throwing his only defense at Nadine. Leon wouldn't notice because Zane was standing in his blind spot, and Nadine was too busy warning Leon of the attacks to his front to notice anything coming from the back. Maybe, if Zane was lucky, he could pick up another ball in time to throw one at Leon before he even noticed. _No, _he realized._ I have a better idea. _

He decided to throw the ball he was currently holding at _Leon_ instead. He was still blind to Zane and was far stronger so getting him out first gave him much better chances at winning. The ball hit Leon square in the mane, almost knocking him off his feet. Leon simply laughed and walked to the bleachers, leaving Nadine undefended. Dalton managed to hit her, and she limped to the bleachers.

Dalton used the strength from hauling hay all day to lodge a ball at Hayato, who only gave him an intense, disturbed stare before walking away, and Chiara, who looked just as mournful as he always did. He threw a next one at Rina, who gaped at him before growling, "redneck." Dalton, insulted, made his way over to give her what-for, but instead was hit in the back by Jordan.

**CONFESSIONAL: Dalton**

**"If there's one thing I hate more than anything, it's rude people. It's just a game, ma'am. No need to throw around insults."**

Eleanor had only lasted so long because she was good at running and diving from volleyball. She missed a hit from Drew with ease and spiked a ball into his stomach. Kirsten, despite being fully prepared to throw a ball at Eleanor, decided to throw it at Ariana instead in thanks for getting the boy out.

Daewon avoided getting hit thanks to his agility from dancing. He treated the gym as if it was a stadium in which he was performing in front of thousands of adoring fans. He sashayed to the left to avoid a ball coming from Aaron and performed an outrageous body roll that helped him dodge a ball from Erica.

Erica had always loved dodgeball; it gave her a chance to take her frustrations out on others in a way that wouldn't get her in trouble. She, Daewon, Eleanor, Jordan, Kirsten, Aaron, and Zane were the only ones left on the floor. As a fellow dancer, she could put herself into Daewon's head. His moves were highly choreographed, and she was sure he wouldn't be able to recover if something got in the way of his next move. He wasn't an improviser the way she was.

He crouched low to duck a throw from Kirsten and began shimmying his lithe shoulders. From the way he was bouncing on his heels, she could tell that he was preparing to spring up to miss a ball aimed lower. Expecting this, she threw the ball aimed higher just as he jumped, and it hit him square in the chest.

She smiled, though this victory would not last for long as Zane had taken note of her gloating and hit her in the side. She pouted and dragged herself to the bleachers behind Daewon.

Jordan had his sights set on Eleanor, who, despite her strong spiking skills, was still mostly doing defense instead of offense. He imagined her as a goal net, and was prepared to throw, until Kirsten threw a ball at his arm. He dropped the ball he was about to throw and stared at it as it rolled away from his feet.

**CONFESSIONAL: Jordan**

**"Seriously?! I can't even win a lousy game of dodgeball anymore?" He ran a hand through his hair. "Some athlete I am, huh?"**

It was now only Eleanor, Kirsten, Aaron, and Zane out there. Zane decided to steal Jordan's idea of going after Eleanor first.

**CONFESSIONAL: Zane**

**"I honestly don't know how she lasted so long. She looked like such a mouse on stage but turns out she might actually be of some use in this game. Color me shocked."**

He hit her while her guard was focused on Aaron. She turned to face Zane, surprised he was even still there. She joined the rest of the losers on the bleachers.

Next was Kirsten. She was tough but everyone had a weakness. Zane was pretty sure she knew what hers was. He noticed Drew quite brazenly checking the blonde out on the bleachers. While she and Aaron were dodging balls from each other, he shouted, "Drew, quit looking at Kirsten's ass!" Drew practically fell out of his seat at the reveal and Kirsten turned around to look at the New Yorker.

"Really? Are you fuc—" before she could curse Drew out, Aaron had hit her. She scrunched her face up in defeat and went to the bleachers.

Zane raised his hands up in surrender. He knew he wasn't going to get around Aaron—he still hadn't figured him out quite yet and he was too fast to out-maneuver. "I fold. You can still hit me if you want." Aaron snorted and lightly threw the ball at Zane, ending the game.

"Looks like game over, folks!" Announced Chris. "Aaron wins our first mini challenge!"

"Yeah, nothing about that felt 'mini'," Jalen commented, rubbing his throbbing chin.

"The producers decided beforehand that I would get the winner on my team," said Chris smugly. "Blaineley would get whoever came in second, and Don third. Aaron, my man, as the winner, you get to pick who goes on your team _and_ Zane and Kirsten's teams." Aaron knew he was supposed to be happy, but he balked at the idea. He barely knew any of these people and now he had to sort them out? It felt like too big of a responsibility. He shook the thought out of his head.

**CONFESSIONAL: Aaron**

**"I don't know why I was so nervous. I've been on plenty of teams and coaches have always asked me for my input on who should make the cut." He sighed. "It's just tough when you literally don't know anyone on your team. But, I think I made the right decision."**

"Okay, so for Team Chris, I'm going with Jordan, Erica, Ariana, Chiara, Genevieve, Janice, Hayato, and Devon." He picked Jordan and Erica because they had played a great game. Ariana lasted longer than most people would think a Youtuber would, plus he had watched some of her videos in the past and her singing was pretty good. Chiara intrigued him, he had to admit. Genevieve and Janice seemed to have good heads on their shoulders. Hayato was scary and that would always be useful. And Devon? Well, some of his anger with the world could be used in their favor, he was sure of it.

"For Team Blaineley: Jalen, Millie, Zavier, Luna, Twyla, Gemini, Brianna, and Leon will be joining Zane." He stuck Zane, who he figured was pretty smart, with the ones he saw as the most, well, not smart. Sure, they were all talented, but he doubted that even someone as crafty as Zane would be able to corral such a group to his whim.

"For Team Don: Drew, Eleanor, Dalton, Nadine, Daewon, Rina, Ivan, and Dustin will join Kirsten." He had the most fun picking the members for this group. Kirsten very obviously had a short temper, especially when it came to guys. Drew and Daewon would surely annoy the hell out of her. The rest of the members he chose simply because they were all so different, there'd be no way they'd form a cohesive group. He believed they'd all find some way to piss Kirsten off.

"You hear that, guys? Those are your teams from here on out. Once we get back to the studio, you'll be directed to your dorms where you can unpack and get to know each other. You only get a few hours to do that, though. At 6 o'clock sharp report to the Centerstage for your first real challenge as teams. We'll be right back with Total! Drama! Takes the Stage!"

* * *

**That's it for now! Next chapter will feature the contestants getting settled in and completing their first real challenge, and that will end Episode 1 of TDTTS. Let me know how I did writing your characters, any additional information you didn't have in the app, etc. Who do you think should be friends? Enemies? Lovers? And who do you think has a good chance of winning? If your OC didn't say much in this half of the episode, fear not! Everyone has something to do in the next half and we get to see the hidden colors of quite a few characters. Thanks for reading!**


	6. I Wanna Be Famous (PART 2)

**Hi everyone, I'm back! I'm so sorry for disappearing for almost 2 months. I dropped my laptop while moving out of my apartment and couldn't get it fixed until recently but now it's in...mostly functioning order. Updates should go back to being somewhat frequent but probably not as often as they were before the Laptop Incident because my summer job doesn't end for another week and after that I'll be on vacation with no internet access so I'm gonna try my hardest to get two more chapters out before then! I added an extra bit to the end of this chapter to make up for taking so long though, so I hope you all enjoy and thanks for sticking with me :)**

**...**

* * *

**TEAM CHRIS – BOYS SIDE**

Jordan placed his bag on the bottom bunk underneath Aaron's. "Thanks for choosing us, bruv. I think we've got a solid team here." He held his fist out for Aaron to bump with his own.

"No problem. You did awesome out there today. I was honestly kinda glad Zane took you out because I wasn't sure I'd be able to make it past you myself."

Jordan was warmed by the compliment. He had been kicking himself since losing, so knowing that his skills were appreciated was nice to hear. "Yeah, the crazy thing is I didn't even see him coming! It was like he appeared out of nowhere."

On the other side of the room, Hayato and Devon were debating over who should get the single bed, and who would have to share a bunk with Chiara.

"I need my peace and quiet, Matsumi. I deserve the single bed," Devon grit out. Hayato rolled his brown eyes.

"The room is only so big, you fool. None of us are getting peace and quiet no matter where we sleep. I need the single because I cannot promise I won't _smother one of you_ in your sleep. I should be the farthest away from everyone else."

"Listen you little maniac, I got here first. That means I get first pick of the bed. I'm taking the single and there is nothing on God's green Earth you can do to stop me!" The other boys could tell the argument would soon turn violent, so Jordan stepped in and separated them with his arms.

"Quit it, you guys. It's only the first day and we're already fighting! We need to be a cohesive team by the time the challenge starts." Hayato ripped Jordan's hand from his shoulder and pointed at Devon.

"Tell him he needs to drop the bed situation and let me have the single, then." Devon gasped.

"Oh, absolutely not! I'm taking it!" The two teens had evaded Jordan's grasp, and were about to have a head-on collision when Chiara spoke.

"I will take the bed." He was much more comfortable speaking English in shorter sentences. "You both want it equally. It would be…not…fair…to give it to one over the other. So, I shall sleep there. You two will share the…what is this called?"

"The bunk," Aaron answered. "And, that's a great idea, Chiara. Hayato, Devon, you'll be bunkmates from now on."

Both of the smaller boys gaped at Aaron, then at Chiara, and then at Jordan who just waved his hands as if to say, "hey, don't look at me". Devon looked prepared to scream but Hayato just closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and muttered, "I'm taking the top bunk." It was settled.

**CONFESSIONAL: Hayato**

"**I do not want to be too much of a bother. I am not getting eliminated over something so stupid. Devon can handle that all on his own."  
**

**...**

**TEAM CHRIS – GIRLS SIDE**

"Was expecting something a bit less drab," said Ariana as she looked at the blank, white walls of the room. There was only one window and it faced an alley. "But this'll do. Hang up some fairy lights here, put up posters over there…"

"This isn't your bedroom, you know," went Erica. She was laying down on the top bunk above Janice, who was methodically sorting out her things. "For all you know, you'll only be here for a week tops. Why waste money and time on decorating?"

Ariana narrowed her eyes at Erica. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

**CONFESSIONAL: Erica**

"**What do you **_**think**_** it's supposed to mean, goofy? I don't see you as a threat, end of."**

Erica shrugged. "Take it whatever way you wish. It's up to interpretation." Ariana fumed at the implication, which Janice took note of.

"Hey, I really don't want to be in a room full of catty bitches, okay? I get enough of that from home." She rubbed unconsciously at her birthmark, which funnily enough almost looked like a musical note. "So let's end this before it starts, understand?" She went back to putting her clothes, most of which were black, into the five-drawer dresser between the two bunks.

Erica muttered, "fine by me," while Ariana shook her head and left to check out the lounge. Genevieve watched on with rapt attention.

**CONFESSIONAL: Genevieve**

"**I find people interesting and I'm here to see just how many interesting people are part of this competition. These three particular girls will make excellent subjects, and I won't even need to go too far to observe them. Erica is so standoffish yet seems to always want to engage people in an argument. Janice looks very self-assured, and like she very much does not appreciate being bothered. I wonder what she meant about dealing with catty people back home…" Genevieve looked pensive. "And Ariana! I wonder how different her Youtube persona is from her real life one. For now, they seem like the same person, but everyone has two faces. Even if they don't show it."**

**...**

**TEAM BLAINELEY – BOYS SIDE**

Jalen was busy taping pictures of a gorgeous woman he had taken from Instagram to the wall closest to his bunk. He had no idea who she was, but he needed to make a good impression on the guys. He had slipped up multiple times earlier, and he knew they probably saw him as a weak link because of it. If he could convince them that he had managed to snag a girl as beautiful as the one in the pictures, maybe they wouldn't think he was a total loser.

"Ooh, who is she?" Leon asked, from his bunk, which was under Zane's. Jalen smirked.

"Oh, she's just this chick I hook up with from time to time. Nothing serious. I'm still on the prowl this summer and she understands that." He tipped his fedora and stared lovingly at the stranger in the pictures. Zavier, who was in the bunk below Jalen, gave a low whistle.

"Damn Jalen, I didn't know you had it in you. She is beyond hot," he said, tying his dreads into a high bun. Jalen reminded himself to not be insulted because, well, he _didn't_ have it him, but that was neither here nor there.

Zane wasn't taking the bait.

**CONFESSIONAL: Zane**

"**I don't know what's worse. Jalen pretending to be friends with benefits with a famous European Instagram influencer or Leon and Zavier actually believing that a guy like him could get with a famous European Instagram influencer. These guys will be like putty in my hands if they're this gullible."**

**...**

**TEAM BLAINELEY – GIRLS SIDE**

Brianna was sitting on the top bunk of the girls room, biting her thumbs apprehensively. Her long-lost love, Hayato, was there.

**CONFESSIONAL: Brianna**

"**Of all the places in the entire world, he's here! I haven't seen him in so long. This has to be some sort of sign…"**

"What's on your mind?" Asked Gemini from the single bed. She could tell Brianna was troubled.

Millie, Luna, and Twyla stopped in their tracks. The other three girls were still unpacking but paused to see what was wrong with Bri. She appreciated the gesture from the girls she barely knew.

"It's nothing…I just…I-I know someone here." Twyla's mouth formed an "O" as she sat up on the other top bunk, which was above Luna.

"Who? Who is it?" Brianna blushed and tried to hide her face between her knees. She wasn't sure if it was safe to disclose such personal information so soon but…

"Hayato. He and I were friends long ago, when we were kids back in Japan. I moved to the states ages ago and I haven't seen nor heard from him since. I was…" _in love with him, _she wants to say, but that would be far too much too soon. "I was his best friend and he was mine."

"Aw! That's so sweet!" Cheered Twyla. Brianna ducked her head, blonde wisps of hair covering her face.

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Then, what's the problem? Why do you look so sad?"

Brianna raised her head. "Well…it's been years since we've spoken. I want us to be friends again, but I don't even know how to approach him. Everything's different and when would we even have the time? We're on different teams."

Gemini leaned forward, clutching her pillow as if it was a teddy bear. "There's the kitchen, remember? I'm pretty sure we can go there whenever we want."

Millie, from her place below Brianna, said, "but we shouldn't make a habit of fraternizing with the enemy, guys!"

Luna agreed. "Eh, she has a point. That could turn dangerous really fast." Brianna's entire face fell. A part of her knew they were right.

Gemini thought differently. "Screw it. This isn't a dictatorship, you should be able to talk to whoever you want."

Twyla nodded, lollipop still in her mouth. "You'd regret it more if you didn't talk to him at all than if you talked to him and got burned."

Brianna considered each side. She wasn't sure who she agreed with more, but she knew she would have to decide soon.

**...**

**TEAM DON – GIRLS SIDE**

"You did such a good job, Kirsten. You reminded me of some of the girls on my volleyball team," complimented Eleanor. She was situated on the bottom bunk, which was below Kirsten's. Kirsten, however, was pacing the room.

"Not good enough. I can't believe that dillweed got me taken out! I could've won the whole thing!" She crossed her arms over her yellow tank top. "You did pretty well too. Unfortunately, I can't say that for everyone in here but…" she trailed off, indicating how early Rina and Nadine had been taken out.

The other two girls were on the top and bottom bunk respectively. Rina was already irritated with the subtle jab. "Excuse me? Is it our fault we had to play a game none of us were prepared for? I wasn't even dressed for the occasion!" She defended, pointing to her white and blue ensemble which consisted of a white, cropped cold-shoulder blouse and a dark blue asymmetrical skirt. "How was I supposed to play my best in this?"

Nadine nodded. "My mom made me wear heels today! Heels! I nearly busted my kneecaps trying not to get hit. If it wasn't for that Leon guy I would've been out way sooner."

Kirsten dismissed them both. "Not my problem. It's possible to look nice for the cameras and wear something practical at the same time, you know."

**CONFESSIONAL: Kirsten**

"**I can already tell these guys are whiners. I almost won the damn thing and all I was wearing was a tank top, shorts, and sandals! You don't need to be decked in full athletic gear to play **_**dodgeball**_**." **

Rina glared. "Well, at least we didn't get out because we got distracted by some hot guy." Kirsten's eyebrows nearly went into her hairline.

"I must be hearing incorrectly, because it sounds like you said I was distracted by a…what?"

Rina spoke slowly, like she thought Kirsten was a child. "I said: You got. Distracted. By a. Hot guy. Maybe worry less about boys and more about winning and we'll be fine for the rest of the competition." Rina didn't wait for a response before hopping off the bed and saying, "I'm going to the restroom."

After Rina left, Eleanor and Nadine watched in horror as Kirsten's face turned red. Not from embarrassment, but from sheer rage. "Uh…you okay Kirsten?" Nadine asked, trying to defuse the situation.

"I'm fine," she replied through clenched teeth.

**CONFESSIONAL: Eleanor**

"**Looks like there's some tension in our room. Hopefully Kirsten and Rina can sort things out. They both seem to really care about winning so I'm sure they'll put their differences aside for the sake of the team." She looked unsure of what she just said and twirled a coiled strand of brown hair. "Hopefully."**

**...**

**TEAM DON – BOYS SIDE**

"I'm happy to take the bottom bunk," said Dalton. The Tennessee native sat down on it to make room for Daewon, who jumped on the ladder and mounted the top bunk with practiced grace. "You ever do gymnastics, Daewon? You're more limber than my bull-riding cousin!"

The pink-haired boy shook his head, making his silver cross earrings swing. He realized Dalton wouldn't have been able to see the motion since he was directly below him, so he said, "no. But, my training regimen is similar to that of a gymnast's. I would not be able to dance the way I do if not for my strict routine." He subtly flexed his small muscles over his head.

Drew rolled his eyes.

**CONFESSIONAL: Drew**

"**I'm supposed to be the show-off here, not Pinky. This guy's gonna have to fall back unless he wants problems."**

Drew turned to Dustin, who was looking up and down at the other bunk bed. "Is there any reason in particular I shouldn't want to sleep in the same bunk as you? Uncontrollable bladder, loud snorer, insert any other potential annoyances here?" Dustin shook his head.

"I'm used to sharing so we should be fine. I'm just trying to determine which bunk to take. The bottom means less of a trip to the bathroom, but the top makes for more privacy," analyzed the boy.

Drew raised an eyebrow. "How much privacy could you need? We're literally being filmed 24/7." He then shrugged in realization. "Ah, I see. You planning on inviting some special friends over here, huh?"

Before a blushing and already sputtering Dustin could get a word out, Ivan, who had taken the single bed, said, "please don't do that. That's the last thing any of us want to hear or see."

Drew belt out a laugh. "Too bad, little guy. I've already got my eyes on a few potential bedmates."

Ivan attempted an eye-roll, but his lack of sleep caused his eyes to instead quickly roll to the back of his head. The Russian blinked a few times to get his eyesight back on track. "I hope you're not talking about Kirsten."

Drew shrugged again, trying to appear coy. "Hey, I said 'a few', didn't I? Could be anyone. Male, female; Kirsten, _not_ Kirsten. You'll just have to see." Ivan this time successfully rolled his eyes and fell face first into his pillow.

"Your funeral," he muttered into the cushioned fabric, earning a laugh from Dustin.

"If I have anyone over, it'll probably be just to play some chess. I usually just play solo but I'm hoping I can find some like-minded individuals to play against." Dustin squinted his eyes and began to rub his hands together somewhat menacingly. "But none will be able to best me!"

Daewon shared an unimpressed look with Ivan, who had now turned over so his face was visible. Dalton, on the other hand, pat Dustin on the back.

"I'm sure ya will, buddy. Let's keep that attitude for the next challenge!"

Dustin pumped a fist into the air in response and then held it out away from him. "Yeah! C'mon guys, D-times-4-plus-I on three!" He was ready to count down until he saw the confused faces of his teammates. "Get it? Because most of our names start with 'D'? Except Ivan's, obviously. I figured it could be our dorm name."

Drew continued to stare on before shaking his head. "_Yeaaah_, no. I'll be in the lounge if you need me." He was gone.

Daewon also got up to leave. "I'm going to see if we can get a bar so I can perform my daily chin-ups installed." He, too, left without another word.

Ivan rolled in his bed to face the wall. "I'll be sleeping. Just let me know when it's time for the challenge." Within seconds, he was asleep.

Dalton and Dustin simply looked at each other. Dalton rubbed the back of his neck and said, "to be frank, I kinda forgot what the cheer you wanted us to say was. Sorry."

Dustin pulled his hand back against his chest, dejected.

**CONFESSIONAL: Dustin**

"**Welp, there goes that. Can you blame me for wanting to build some camaraderie?"**

**...**

* * *

Five hours later, in which the contestants had been able to officially mingle with each other, the 27 teens were back on the stage. This time, they were divided into their groups of nine, and eagerly awaiting what the next challenge would be.

"So," began Chris. "I take it you guys have gotten to know each other, hm?"

They all nodded with varying levels of enthusiasm. Though it was too early to see who could be considered an ally, it was certainly clear who would not get along. The Team Blaineley girls had seemed to hit it off and had spent the past few hours discussing the bits and pieces of their home lives they were willing to share. Luna gushed about the kindness of her maids, which had earned her a "you have maids?! As in plural-multiple-more-than-one _MAIDS_?!" from Millie. Twyla talked about her favorite clothing stores and taste in music. Gemini told the girls about her rather extensive romantic history, while Brianna listened on with wide eyes. It was no telling how long the camaraderie would last, but for now half of Team Blaineley was in good shape. The other half was alright, though severely misguided if anyone were to ask Zane.

As for Team Don, there was certainly some tension, at least among the girls. The boys had avoided each other for the most part, which was fine by everyone except Dalton who had been hoping to make a few friends. Drew had run into Rina on her way from the bathroom, and they had chatted for a bit in the lounge. Rina certainly hadn't appreciated his overbearing flirting, which Drew was of enough sound mind to notice, resulting in him toning it down a tad. Rina silently appreciated it, or at least Drew figured as much, because she chose to stand next to him on the stage.

Team Chris was a wild card. While Aaron and Jordan got along, literally no one else on the team between the boys and girls seemed to be very fond of anyone. Aaron was starting to regret his decision.

**CONFESSIONAL: Aaron**

"**I thought I had it all right, y'know? Put the strongest competitors together! But maybe…maybe I shouldn't have thought of this like it was sports. At least in football we can relieve the tension on the field. But here? What is someone like Devon gonna do? Scream into a mic? Louder does not equal better, trust me."**

"Well, it's time for your first real challenge! Today, you'll be doing a bit of our job for us." Chris smirked to himself and listened out for a small snicker from Chef. "You losers are gonna sing the theme song!"

Murmurs of excitement sounded throughout the theater. Chris clapped to bring the attention back on him. "Yeah, so, I may or may not have pissed off the band that recorded the original TD theme song over a game of poker…honestly it's all kinda foggy. It totally wasn't my fault if that's what anyone's wondering. Anyway! Basically, we can't use their recording anymore. Bummer. So that's why for this challenge, each team will record a version of the song. The team with the best recording wins the challenge and the prize of having their vocals used in our opening theme. How's that sound?" The contestants cheered and whooped, excited to finally start the competition.

Blaineley spoke up. "You have an hour to determine who will be singing which parts, whether or not you want to add key changes, what instruments to add, etcetera. You'll be performing it live for us and the winning team will get to record it in the studio. Instruments are available in the orchestra pit."

"No one can mess up; you all have to be in-sync," added Don. "If one of you sounds pitchy that could mean a loss for the whole team."

"And, I'll be able to tell, too," went Chef. "You'll each be wearing special microphones that'll allow me to hear _who_ exactly sounds like _what_. If you sound like a dying pig, I'll be able to point that mess out. There's no free-riding here."

Chris took over again, saying "what are you waiting for? Your hour starts…hold on…a little bit more…" he looked at his watch with his tongue sticking out slightly. "Okay, now!"

With that, they were off. Team Chris made it to backstage first, closing the area off from the other two teams. Team Blaineley instead headed to one of the larger dressing rooms, leaving Team Don to stay on stage.

**TEAM DON**

"Don't be disappointed about not getting a private space to practice in," comforted Don, who was getting ready to leave the teens so they could rehearse. "The acoustics are the best out here and you'll know exactly how you'll sound on stage. Plus, you have first dibs on the instruments in the orchestra pit."

Ivan gave a small nod of pride. He peered over the edge of the stage to see the pit and spotted the most beautiful violin he had ever seen. Its strings were tightened to perfection, and it had an ornate design decorating its wooden face. The prodigy was in love.

While he stared down into the pit with reverence, Dustin practically leapt into it and grabbed a saxophone and immediately began to play "Careless Whisper", because, like, what else are you gonna do with a saxophone? Ivan sighed.

"Where in the theme song do they ever play a sax, Dustin?"

Dustin stopped playing and shrugged. "The coaches said we could switch things up."

"This is the first main challenge," began Rina. "I think we should play it safe and not do anything too risky."

Drew nodded, fiddling with his lighter. "She's gotta point. I bet the other teams are gonna break their necks trying to be as experimental as possible. As if this song isn't gonna play at the beginning of every episode." He chuckled quietly. "Idiots."

"It's settled then," said Rina. "We'll stick to the original song and only make changes if absolutely necessary."

"Whoa, whoa, hey," interjected Kirsten. "You two do know there's seven other members of this team, right? Why are you guys calling the shots?"

Rina rolled her blue eyes. "We don't have time for squabbles, Kirsten. Take it up with me after we win, okay?" She had used the same patronizing tone of voice that she had used back in the dorm, effectively setting Kirsten on fire.

**CONFESSIONAL: Kirsten**

"**Do not talk to me like I'm a kid you long-neck, holier-than-thou, blue-haired wench! I don't know who she thinks she is, but she clearly has never met someone like Kirsten Laverre. She needs to be taken down **_**several**_** pegs."**

"Listen you smurf-looking bi—"

Dalton grabbed Kirsten before she could lunge at Rina. "Ladies, ladies, let's take it on down a notch! No one wants to get eliminated on the first day, right?" He released the blonde and looked at her and Rina, waiting for a response. "_Right_?" he repeated.

A pause, and then both girls slowly nodded. Dalton smiled, showing off his gap. "Good. Now let's get this rodeo started!"

**TEAM CHRIS**

Team Chris stood in a circle with Aaron standing in the very middle. "Alright, team, we should easily be able to win this challenge. Everyone knows the lyrics, right?"

Janice politely raised her hand. Aaron pointed at her to answer. She cleared her throat and said, "not to be mean or anything, but who died and made you captain?"

Aaron blinked, perturbed by the question. "Uh…the mini challenge, remember?"

Janice raised her hand again, which caused a perplexed Aaron to point at her again. "Sure, you got to pick the teams, but that doesn't make you captain. Chris would've said so. There are no captains on this show." Three seconds passed before Janice muttered with a small smile, "though I wouldn't necessarily mind being one".

Aaron began to sweat as the rest of his teammates agreed with Janice. He hadn't meant to take on the leader role, but it always just came naturally to him. People liked Aaron back home and wanted to follow him. But it seemed there were too many Type A personalities on Team Chris for that to be possible.

"M-maybe we could take turns leading for each challenge? Does that sound good to everyone?"

Janice raised her hand once more, this time not waiting for Aaron to let her speak. "_Or_, how about whoever is the best fit to lead, do so? I think that makes more sense, right guys?" Nearly everyone nodded.

**CONFESSIONAL: Janice**

"**Look, the last thing I want to seem is mean. I just don't want Aaron thinking he's the big boss around here just because he can play dodgeball. That's now what this competition is about." She crossed her arms over her black turtleneck dress and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "I'm just thinking about the team here."**

Jordan, who felt the need to defend Aaron, spoke up, albeit quietly. He hated to see others being put down. "And, who's to say that such a person can't be Aaron?"

Janice pulled her lips into a thin line and deflated. "He could be, yeah. But, would it kill anyone to let someone else take the reins for this?"

Genevieve approached Janice and asked, "would you like to lead this challenge? Is that what you're trying to say?" At this, Janice placed a hand on her hip and tilted her head, giving Genevieve a "don't start" look.

"Not this one in particular, no. I…singing isn't my forte. I mean, I'm great at it but…" she sighed. "I could be—I _need_ to be better."

"Someone who has experience leading a group of people in song needs to lead this challenge," said Devon. He pushed his glasses up on his nose. "Luckily for you uncultured swine, I've been leading my church's junior boys' choir for the past three years. I will happily get you piggies in line."

Without waiting for the consent of the rest of his team, he snapped his fingers twice, ignoring Erica's "what the hell did he just call us?", Hayato's "I guess I know who I'll be smothering now…", and an Italian insult only Chiara could understand.

"Ladies, I need the sopranos to the right, the altos to the left, and the mezzos in the center. Gentlemen, I need my tenors to the right, basses to the left, and my baritones in the center. We're gonna take the Total Drama viewership to church tonight, and sanctify this den of sin with our heavenly praise!"

The rest of Team Chris groaned. This would surely be a sight.

**TEAM BLAINELEY **

The nine members of Team Blaineley managed to fit nicely into the dressing room. Millie was currently guiding the group through vocal warm-ups that she had learned throughout her years of theater.

"Mama made me mash my M&Ms…Mama made me mash my M&Ms—c'mon you guys you're supposed to go _higher_ not _lower_—Mama made me mash my M&Ms!" She instructed them to go higher and faster until the group were practically screeching.

"Yeah, um," cut in Zavier. "This is just making my throat hurt, not gonna lie. Can we just start rehearsing what we're gonna do?"

Millie scoffed. "Go ahead, but do not complain when your vocal chords are in searing pain tomorrow because of lack of proper preparation!" She calmed down a placed a mega-watt smile back on her face. "So, I'm thinking we should do a dark reprise of the theme song. You know, in musicals a dark reprise is an Act II repeat of a happier song that was sung in Act I. The song is edgier and sadder but tends to keep the same lyrics. Why don't we do that?"

Zane wanted to tell her that was a terrible idea—who would want to listen to a depressing version of such an upbeat song? Especially at the beginning of every episode? But then he thought about it.

**CONFESSIONAL: Zane**

"**I know what you're thinking: I should've stepped in and stopped her. But hear me out. One: Millie is clearly insane, and arguing with insanity is impossible. Two: I'll admit it right now, our team doesn't exactly have the best group of singers. I'm not saying anyone's bad, but we all deal with totally different genres. That's not going to sound good together no matter how hard you try. But with Millie leading we can at least sound decent. Maybe doing a depressing reprise won't win us the challenge but it will get us to the next round." He dropped his head into his hands. "And if it doesn't, at least I know **_**I**_** won't be eliminated. Once the merge comes around, I'll get my chance to shine. For now? I'll let these guys pick themselves off one by one."**

Gemini shrugged. "Cool, I'll grab a guitar from the pit. Anyone else need an instrument?"

Zane joined her. "Right behind you. I'll need to wheel in a piano."

"Grab me a guitar too, if you please!" Requested Leon.

Twyla also needed an instrument, saying, "If they happen to have a harp, please bring one. If not, I'll do with a harmonica."

Jalen hopped over to Gemini and Zane. "I don't need an instrument, but if you ever need help _tuning_ _that guitar_ of yours, I'm your man." He winked at Gemini, who just like earlier, stared blankly at him. His demeanor changed and his voice became squeaky. "Um, I mean, I'll help carry the extra instruments."

As the trio left, Millie called the rest of the group's attention back to her. "Alrighty! Who's ready to practice some harmonies?"

Twyla was the first to raise her hand.

Almost an hour later, long after Zane, Gemini, and Jalen had returned from the orchestra pit with everyone's instruments, it was clear that Twyla should have been the absolute last person to raise her hand.

Millie yelled, "stop!" after Twyla's twelfth failed attempt at holding a tune. "Listen, Twyla…gee I just don't know how to say this…" the theater kid looked around at the rest of the room for help. She knew she wouldn't be able to tell Twyla that she had a voice like nails on a chalkboard without hurting the pastel goth's feelings.

Leon took on the job for her, allowing Millie to release a breath of relief. "Twyla, you have a very unique voice! And there is nothing wrong with being unique!" Millie's eye began to twitch. Surely, he was going to follow that up with a plea to never use that voice on stage ever.

Surely?

"Thank you, Leon," said Twyla in her airy voice. "As much as I love playing instruments, sometimes I think I could really stand out as a singer."

At this, the rest of her teammates, save Leon, shouted variations of _"no for the love of all that is good please don't stand out"_.

At that time, Blaineley swung by the dressing room, shouting "be on stage in five minutes!" and left. Luna facepalmed.

"It'll take us about that much time just to wheel out the piano and the harp. We should best get going now," said the Brit.

Millie was on the verge of a meltdown, but managed to pull herself together at the last minute. "You're right. The show must go on!"

Team Blaineley marched out of the dressing room to the stage, not at all as prepared as they thought they were.

* * *

"Welcome to our first main challenge!" Chris greeted. "Our three teams have spent the last hour coming up with a brand new rendition of our long-beloved Total Drama theme song, 'I Wanna Be Famous'. Whoever comes up with the best version wins the challenge and gets their song played each episode. Who's ready to hear what these kids came up with? First up, of course, is Team Chris!"

The teens, clad in choir robes that Devon procured from who knows where, took their places on the stage and waited silently as the preacher's son counted them down. Suddenly, the performers burst into a loud, resounding "Dear" which lasted about four counts. This was followed up by a "dear mom and daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad," that sounded so mournful yet oddly harmonious that Chris stopped himself from yawning. The "fine" in "I'm doing fine" was sung in falsetto and then there was silence. Four seconds later, however, the tone of the song shifted drastically, and was suddenly accompanied by Devon on the organ, Aaron on bass, and Erica on drums. Team Chris sang the rest of the theme song as if it was a jaunty tune performed in a southern church, complete with hand clapping and the occasional dramatic ad-lib from Devon. There were no solos, much to the chagrin of some members.

**CONFESSIONAL: Ariana**

"**Like are you kidding me? I came on this show to **_**sing**_**. How is anyone supposed to hear me over that bible-thumping loser or those screechy opera singers? It's only the first episode but I feel like I haven't even made a real impression yet. Something's **_**got**_** to give."**

**CONFESSIONAL: Chiara**

"**Erm…I do not know how I feel about no solo. On one hand, the power of my voice alone would win us competition. On other hand, this is sup-supposed to be a happy song. For me to sing would mean the floodgates opening and perhaps…perhaps we cannot have that."**

Once the song ended, the coaches applauded politely (in Don's case), begrudgingly (in Blaineley's case) and dramatically (in, of course, Chris' case). The longtime Total Drama host spoke into his mic to say, "so, that happened. Gotta admit you had me pretty worried there for a minute, and we cannot have me growing worry lines on this handsome face," he said, gesturing to a face only money and years of botox could maintain. "It sounded like you were gonna break into a Gregorian chant at first. What made you go the gospel route?"

Devon slid on his knees from the organ to the center of the stage, shouting, "the need to sanctify what was once a den of sin, Christopher!"

Chris rolled his eyes, quietly muttering that he wished he had never asked, before beckoning Chef to give his score. "What do ya think, Chef? Think they succeeded in sancti-whatevering this place?"

Chef barked out a laugh. "Hell no. But I did give points for effort. You guys did a pretty decent job. Your voices all gelled well together, and those harmonies were damn-near perfect. Reminded me of going to church with my family when I was a kid." Aaron high-fived Jordan and Erica, who were closest to him. Maybe they had actually won this thing on their first try?

"But I was also reminded of how much I fell asleep as soon as the service actually started. No offense but it was always so _boring_. I also didn't really like my older brother all that much. And my dad, whew, if you think _I'm_ a hardass that man was—" Chef stopped himself from going too far down memory lane. "Bottom line, let's just say I don't like being reminded of going to church with my family. Team Chris gets a 6 out of 10."

Devon's mouth flew open and he collapsed into a pile on the stage, banging his fist on the wooden flooring. The rest of the team groaned, disappointment filling their every movement as they shuffled off the stage. Jordan had to backtrack to drag a wailing Devon away.

"Anyway! My team," announced Blaineley. "It's time to perform your rendition of the song that hopefully doesn't inflict Chef's childhood traumas. I'm counting on you!"

The team marched out on the stage, pushing their instruments to their respective places. After a beat, Millie was the first to sing.

"Dear mom and dad….I'm doing fine...you guys are on my mind…," she sang slowly in a melody similar to that of "Mama who Bore Me (Reprise)" from Millie's favorite musical _Spring Awakening_. The song was moody and brought on what could only be called a sense of foreboding.

Jalen took on the next line with a lower-key, "you asked me what I wanted to be, and now I think the answer is plain to see…". This was followed by the entire team singing a rather dour-sounding, "I wanna be famous."

Brianna, who was still quite nervous about singing alone, had to sing her part with Zavier. "I wanna live close to the sun…"

"So pack your bags, 'cause I've already won…" sang a bored looking Zane.

"Everything to prove, nothing in my way," Leon and Gemini belted together, trying their hardest and failing at sounding sad. Their personalities just wouldn't comply.

"I'll get there one day," finished Luna, putting the song back on it's depressing track.

"'Cause I wanna be famous…" the entire group sang again. Instead of going into the "na-na-na-na's", they simply repeated that last line, going down a key each time. This would've all been well and good if it was not for Twyla, who simply did not know how to perform a key change. This caused her voice to stand out among the group of performers, which also would've been fine if she did not sound like a cat being run over.

The song ended unceremoniously with a downright creepy whistle by Luna. For what felt like the longest time, no one said a word. That is, until Blaineley dropped her face into her hands and mumbled, "please go easy on them, Chef."

Chef cleared his throat. "That was trash. Beyond trash. You went past the dumpster and all the way to the damn landfill. What was that?"

Millie scurried to the edge of the stage to plea with Chef. "It was a dark reprise! Have you never heard of one of those?"

Chef raised an eyebrow. "Even if I _had_, why in the world would anyone want to listen to that at the beginning of every episode?" Millie blanched and Zane face-palmed.

Zavier leaned over to Jalen and whispered, "points were made…why did none of us think of that?" Jalen could only cringe as Chef tore apart their performance.

"Not only that, but the mic definitely picked up someone singing like they were being violently murdered. Whoever that was you need to make yourself known now because I have some very choice words and a potential hospital bill for you to pay." He took his headphones off and started poking around his ear. "I may be partially deaf now."

No one moved until Zane stretched out his arms as if he was yawning, only to use the stretch to push Twyla out of the crowd and in Chef's general direction. Twyla started to shake her head.

"It couldn't have been me! I have a lovely voice—unique even! Leon said so himself."

"Little girl, Leon lied. I get that we have more than just singers here, but everyone should at least be able to carry a tune. Your performance was already down the gutter, but Twilight Sparkle here sent your score down all the way to a 3 out of 10."

Twyla's eyes filled with tears as the dejected Team Blainely exited the stage. She slowly followed after them, not understanding where she went wrong.

**CONFESSIONAL: Twyla**

"**That Chef is so unbelievably rude. I tend to let people's opinions about me slide off my back but he went too far. No one has ever told me I was a bad singer. If I was so awful wouldn't one of my own teammates say something?" She sighed. "This just doesn't seem very fair. But, I tried my best, and I hope that's enough."**

Don was ready for his team to board the stage. "Let's hope they saved the best for last…let's go Team Don!"

Once the teens were on the stage, Ivan started to play his violin with a finesse unseen by anyone before. The tune was an instrumental of the theme song with a few slight improvisations. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration. Rina then began to sing.

"Dear mom and dad, I'm doing fine," she sang in her beautiful soprano. Dalton joined in with a harmony on "you guys are on my mind."

"You asked me what I wanted to be," sang Daewon, followed by Ivan's "and now I think the answer is plain to see."

Nadine sang the "I wanna be famous," alone, her powerhouse vocals being enough.

"I wanna live close to the sun," sang Dustin before Kirsten sang "so pack your bags 'cause I've already won."

"Everything to prove, nothing in my way," crooned Drew with a wink to the cameras.

Eleanor was next with a quiet, "I'll get there one day."

This time the entire team sang "'Cause I wanna be famous," and broke out into the "na-na-na-na's". Drew, Dalton, and Kirsten chanted the repeated "I wanna be famous" lines. In lieu of whistling, Dustin played the outro with his sax. Once he was done, he bowed, which caused the others to follow suit. Each of the coaches clapped, and even Chef chanced a smile.

"Alright, alright. That was good. You each played to your strengths and even though you didn't change the song much, the changes you did make made sense for the show. For that, I'm giving Team Don a 9 out of 10."

The teens burst with pride. Nadine and Eleanor started jumping up and down together, quickly joined by Dalton. Dustin practically jumped on Ivan's back, startling the Russian boy. Drew, Rina, Daewon, and Kirsten kept their cool, however. Whether it was for the cameras or to impress each other no one would ever know. Drew took out his lighter to light a celebratory cigarette, Daewon rubbed his hands together smugly, and the two girls avoided even looking at each other.

"Congrats on your win, Team Don," said Chris, clearly disappointed that his team didn't win. "Head on back to the dorms where there will be a pizza party waiting for you in your lounge." The team cheered and ran out of the building. "Team Chris. Sweet, sweet Team Chris, you guys were good but not good enough. Luckily for you, you weren't the absolute suckiest at your job so can live to see another day. Head back to the dorms." They followed Team Don out of the building, without nearly as much pep in their step. Only Team Blaineley was left.

"Wow. You guys sucked and sucked _hard_. I didn't even know it was possible to be that stinkin' bad. What were you thinking?"

"I think they get it, Chris," said Blaineley through gritted teeth. Chris shrugged.

"Whatevs. Either way, you guys are gonna have to figure out who set you up for failure the most. Millie who had the awful idea of doing a 'dark reprise', or Twyla who can't even sing? Maybe even Leon for lying to her about it?"

"Are you seriously trying to sway our opinion and turn us against each other right now, Chris?" Asked a fuming Millie.

"Uh, _duh_. That's kinda my thing? Head to the Green Room to cast your votes."

* * *

Once everyone had cast their votes, Team Blaineley sat in silence as they awaited their fate. The Green Room was probably the only part of the theater that hadn't been redone. The couches were ratty, the paint was peeling off the walls, and the faint smell of marijuana hung in the air. The teens wanted to be out of there as soon as possible, but only if they were going right back to the dorms, and not straight into a taxi.

**CONFESSIONAL: Millie**

"**I don't care what anyone says, my plan was brilliant! It's the rest of my team that messed it up. If they had even an ounce of professional training, we would've killed it out there. But you know who really flubbed up our performance? Twyla. No matter how angry they are with me for having a vision, they **_**must**_** be angrier at her for sounding so bad."**

**CONFESSIONAL: Zavier**

"**Millie's idea was hot garbage, bruh. We just went along with it because we had no idea what she was talking about. If she's such a pro, why couldn't she pull us together to make something good? Or figure out what to do about Twyla? I'm not sending Twyla home over something she can't help, especially when Millie should've known better than to make her sing such a difficult part."**

**CONFESSIONAL: Jalen**

"**Two hot girls are on the chopping block and I'm supposed to choose which one to go? No way, Jose. If anyone should go it's Leon for letting Twyla think her voice was good. Plus, if I save both girls, odds are at least one of them is gonna want to thank me for not voting them off, if you know what I mean…" he tried to wiggle his eyebrows but it came off looking like he was having a muscle spasm. He paused. "That sounded really douchey, didn't it? Ugh, can I re-record this? Please?!"**

Chris walked into the Green Room and promptly began. "Welcome to the first elimination ceremony of Total Drama Takes the Stage! I know we're all super excited to be here, right?" He laughed to himself as the teens remained silent. "This season, we'll be giving you CDs as tokens of your safety. Now, I know you guys are like, what? Twelve? So, you've probably never seen a CD before but—"

"Everyone knows what a CD is," scoffed Luna. "I bet you don't think we know what MP3 players are too?"

Chris blinked. "Uhhh…so! Whoever doesn't get a CD will be eliminated from the competition and must catch the taxi waiting outside to leave and never come back. _Ever_. Are you ready? If you aren't, who cares!" He grabbed a handful of CDs and started tossing them. "Luna, Zane, Jalen, Zavier, Gemini, Brianna…" he paused before tossing the second-to-last CD at Leon, who caught it with a first pump. "That leaves Millie and Twyla left. It was a pretty close call with only a difference of one vote. But the rest of your team has decided that…Millie…"

Millie looked as if she was going to pass out. "No! You can't do this to me! You guys need me!"

Chris glared at the theater kid as he continued, "well clearly they thought the same thing because Millie, you are _safe_." He tossed the last CD to Millie, who still managed to grab it despite her hands being covered in sweat. "I'm sorry, Twyla, but it's time for you to go."

The pastel goth wrung her hands together but nodded resolutely. "I understand. I wish it didn't have to end this way." She stood up and was immediately hugged by Gemini and Brianna. "It was lovely meeting you all." Once she was released from the hug, she waved a dainty hand at the rest of the team, most of whom waved back. "Goodbye, Total Drama," were her last words before she left the building forever.

"There you have it! That completes our first episode of Total Drama Takes the Stage! Stay tuned for next episode to see the first look at the new Total Drama theme opening! And who knows what else? Will Millie seek vengeance on Team Blaineley for almost voting her out? Will tensions on Team Don end their victory streak before it even begins? Will Team Chris get their butts in gear before I regret ever coaching them? Find out next time on Total! Drama! Takes the Stage!"

**...**

**TEAM DON – 10:32 PM**

The pizza party was starting to wind down for Team Don. There was still a box of pepperoni and half a box of cheese left, but at this point everyone was just chilling and discussing their hopes for the rest of the competition. Well, save for Dustin and Dalton who were having a soda chugging contest. Nadine was the only one cheering, "chug! Chug! Chug!" at them though Kirsten and Eleanor watched, both vaguely disgusted.

Daewon had avoided the food altogether, as he was under a strict diet which helped him maintain his impeccable physique. He would wait until the morning to whip himself up a protein shake in the kitchen. Until then, he performed crunches next to his bed. Ivan had also retreated to the room after eating a couple slices of pizza. Not only because he was still exhausted, but because he wanted to avoid questions about his violin playing skills. He was not ashamed of his past, in fact he embraced it, but he didn't want to make a huge thing out of being a child prodigy.

This left Drew and Rina, who had snuck off to the girls' room.

"Listen, Drew. I don't know what kinda girl you think I am, but I am _not_ sleeping with you—I barely know you!" Rina whisper-yelled. She didn't want any of the others catching any ideas about her relationship with Drew, especially since that relationship was practically nonexistent.

Drew chuckled. "That's not what this is about, dollface. I mean, if you're interested, I'm always willing but—" Rina turned around to leave but Drew stopped her with a quick grab. "Alright, I'll knock it off. For now, that is." He winked again which both revolted and secretly thrilled Rina. "I think you and I…we get each other. We don't have our heads shoved so far up our asses we can't see sense, right? The rest of the team…they're all nice enough people but they'll all be gone sooner than later, you picking up what I'm putting down?" Rina nodded slowly.

"You want to form an alliance, don't you?"

"Bingo, dollface. See, I knew you were smart. The two of us are almost guaranteed to make it to the merge. And after that, if we keep working together, we can make it to the final three. What do ya say?"

Drew's deep blue eyes shined imploringly in the darkness of the dorm room. Rina pursed her lips absentmindedly. "How do I know I can trust you? I've seen this show before, Hanson. I know that people like you tend to turn against your alliance members."

Drew tilted his head from side to side, seemingly agreeing with her. "You have a point. You probably shouldn't trust me. But, I have no reason to trust you either, don't I?"

Rina quirked an eyebrow. "You don't."

"So, it's settled. Neither of us should trust each other. We both have the ability to screw each other over. What do you say to that?"

Rina inhaled and exhaled. This could make or break the competition for her. "I'm in."

"Excellent. I look forward to working with you," said Drew before taking Rina's hand and kissing it. Rina, not being the type of person to swoon, didn't even spare a blush of the face at the boy. At that exact moment, the light flickered on.

The new alliance members tore away from each other, only to see Kirsten standing in the doorway, her finger still hovering by the light switch. _She_ was the one blushing. "Uh, I was just coming in to settle down."

"Yeah, by all means," said Drew who had now turned his hungry look from Rina to Kirsten. Kirsten huffed.

"Can you _leave_? I kinda have to get undressed." She regretted her choice of words as soon as they were out of her mouth. Drew already had a sleazy look on his attractive face.

"I'll leave. Have fun undressing." He pat Rina on her back on his way out. "We'll talk later."

Once he was gone, Rina and Kirsten held a 10-second-long staring contest before both looked away at the same time. Rina went back to the lounge and Kirsten began to undress.

**CONFESSIONAL: Kirsten**

"_**I'm**_** the one that's distracted and yet **_**she's**_** the one having secret late night rendezvous' in our dorm. Uh-huh, okay. I'm on to you Rina, like a freakin' **_**hawk**_**."**

**...**

* * *

_**What did you think of the chapter? Which team are you rooting for? Which friendships or relationships can you see springing up? Which rivalries are you most excited for? Thanks for reading!**_


	7. Jump in the Line (PART 1)

**Hi again after yet another long hiatus. I apologize for how long it took to push this out. I started grad school this August and had no idea it would be this time-consuming. Despite that I fully intend to finish this. The next chapter is already written and I've outlined the next four after that. To those who have stayed despite me updating like once every 2 months, thank you so so much! You have no idea how much I appreciate you! Without further adieu, here's the next chapter of Total Drama Takes the Stage, enjoy!**

* * *

A single spotlight shown on the Centerstage Theater's stage and out walked the three coaches. They took their marked spots in the light and looked directly into the camera. Chris was the first to speak.

"Welcome back to Total Drama Takes the Stage! Last episode, we kicked off the season with a bang. We met out contestants, played a little dodgeball—always a classic—and had our first challenge which lead to our first elimination."

Blaineley continued the opening spiel. "Twyla, our resident pastel goth, unfortunately had to go. While she was as sweet as can be, she also couldn't hit a note to save her life."

"And Team Don won themselves a pizza party and bragging rights," said Don, his chest puffed with pride.

Chris spoke next. "Tentative friendships were made, outright rivalries were declared, and we might even have a love triangle going on—by the first episode too!"

"What juicy drama will unfold this episode?" Asked Blaineley.

Don followed that up with, "Will our contestants be able to _step_ up to the next challenge?"

Chris ended the cold open by going, "Find out after our brand-new theme opening for Total! Drama! Takes the Stage! Coming at you now!"

**[INTRO MUSIC]**

A limo is shown speeding down the streets of Downtown Toronto until it reaches the Centerstage Theater, at which point Chris, Don, and Blaineley exit the vehicle.

**Dear mom and dad, I'm doing fine**

**You guys are on my mind**

The camera goes inside of the theater, where Eleanor is standing nervously on stage. Right when she is about to grab the microphone to sing, Ariana snatches it away from her with a wink to the camera.

**You asked me what I wanted to be **

**Now I think the answer is plain to see **

The camera travels backstage and into the dressing room, where Kirsten and Rina are screaming at each other while in a slight state of undress. Drew is watching on near the door with a smirk. Jalen tries to sneak a peek at the action by slowly opening the door, only for Drew to shut it in his face.

**I wanna be famous**

As Jalen leaves backstage, rubbing his slowly bruising face, the camera swoops back to the stage and dips into the orchestra pit, where Ivan is comparing violins before shunning away from them both and taking his own prized violin from out of nowhere. Dustin is shown to be taking out a saxophone and exiting the pit.

**I wanna live close to the sun**

The camera follows Dustin out of the theater, where he bumps into Hayato and Luna. He pulls out a portable chess table as if to ask if either of them is interested in playing with him. Luna shrugs and leaves with him.

**So pack your bags 'cause I've already won**

Hayato, in the meantime walks to the dorms, where Brianna is sitting with a now departed Twyla. As soon as Brianna spots Hayato she chances a nervous wave, which Hayato shyly returns. Twyla giggles into a frilly glove.

**Everything to prove, nothing in my way**

The camera goes to the studios, where Zavier is laying down a verse so loud that the microphone starts smoking. He takes off his headphones sheepishly, turning around to look at Erica who rolls her eyes and plugs her earbuds in, listening to her own music.

**I'll get there one day**

In the next recording booth, Chiara is singing mournfully into the mic, his soulful eyes shedding golden tears. Janice watches on trying her hardest not to cry before shedding tears of her own. She runs out into the hallway, not wanting anyone to witness her tears.

'**Cause I wanna be famous**

Janice runs up the stairs, where Daewon is performing some incredibly dangerous-looking acrobatic dance move. He scoffs as Janice's running causes him to miss a step and tumble down the steps.

**Na-na-na-na-na**

**Na-na-na-na**

**Na-na-na-na**

The camera leaves Janice as she goes to her dorm, and continues on to the kitchen, where Dalton is flipping burger patties into the air like a barbequing pro. Leon is cheering the other boy on while Gemini strums her guitar decorated with heart stickers in the corner. Nadine watches from the kitchen entrance longingly, clearly wanting to join the others, but Devon appears from behind her with a disappointed look on his face. Nadine frowns and proceeds to walk away.

**I wanna be **

**I wanna be**

**I wanna be famous**

The camera follows Nadine but eventually zooms past her to reach where Jordan and Aaron are preparing to race each other outside. Genevieve is there to count them off, waving a handkerchief in the air. They take off in the direction of the theater, and Genevieve watches on with interest, before taking note of it in her notebook.

**I wanna be **

**I wanna be**

**I wanna be famous**

Inside the theater, Millie is putting on a one-woman show, complete with multiple instant costume changes and a lightshow. The rest of the teens file into the building, taking their seats. When Millie finishes, only a few of the contestants clap. Millie frowns and exits the stage.

**[END SAXOPHONE TUNE (courtesy of Dustin)]**

Sitting in the very back row practically unnoticed, Zane watches his fellow contestants fuss and preen. He unfolds his crossed arms and places them behind his head in a casual position. The camera zooms out on the teens, and the title card is displayed on the screen.

* * *

**TEAM BLAINELEY – GIRLS SIDE – 4:08 AM **

Millie couldn't sleep. She had spent the last several hours staring blankly at the bottom of Brianna's bunk.

Brianna, who could've been one of the people that had tried to vote her off the show.

If looks could kill, a hole would burn through the mattress.

**CONFESSIONAL: Millie**

"**I just don't get it! How was I so close to leaving? I've always been well-liked. The theater department chair at my high school just loves me! All of my directors have nothing but good things to say about me. My cast mates—" She stopped for a moment, mouth in a firm line. "Well, they've never said anything to my face so! Bottom line, I'm as lovable as Mary Poppins herself. I don't deserve to be treated like this! Like some sort of outsider, like I'm an Elphaba in a world of Galindas! Oh, I could just—!" A knock sounded on the studio door. The door opened to reveal Blaineley. **

"**Could you keep it down? The mics in here are **_**sensitive**_**," she said before slamming the door. Millie smiled apologetically at the camera. **

Millie took a look at the analog clock hanging on the wall across from the bunks. Noting the late (or, technically early) hour, she frowned. She had stayed up all night stressing herself out and was probably going to be off her game for the rest of the day because of it. Yet another way she'd prove those ingrates on her team right.

She set her watch for 6:00 AM. She'd get as much sleep as she could and, no matter how tired she actually felt, would put on an energetic face for the cameras. Her teammates would regret almost kicking her off. She would make sure of it.

* * *

**KITCHEN – 5:55 AM**

Daewon, fresh from his morning workout routine (which consisted of him running up and down the stairs repeatedly and then breaking into lunges down the hall) was perched on the stainless-steel countertop nursing a glass of his homemade protein shake.

**CONFESSIONAL: Daewon**

"**Three raw eggs, chia powder, almonds, fish eggs, and skim milk—with a sprinkling of chili flakes for taste." He stretched his long arms over his head to subtly flex his muscles. "It may sound disgusting—and it is—but back at the trainee dorms in Korea, it was a godsend. While the rest of my group members would pig out on **_**carbs**_**," He made a revolted face at the camera. "I would make myself three of these shakes a day. Did wonders for me. My fellow trainees? Not so much." His mouth contorted into a sly grin, though the regretful tone of his voice in his next statement contradicted this expression. "I made them all try it once and well, let's just say the toilets never recovered." **

At that time, Luna entered the kitchen, donning a dark grey hoodie and ripped jeans. She sleepily approached the line of cabinets and searched anxiously for some tea.

"How come they only have all the frilly teas but no black tea? Who drinks oolong in the morning?!"

Daewon rolled his eyes as he took a final gulp of his shake. "Not everyone's a British tea snob. Personally, I like to have oolong around noon."

Luna grumbled, "I'm not a snob," under her breath but decided to not further engage with the dancer.

At least, not until he asked, "what are you doing up so early? I didn't think any of you would have the discipline to wake up before 10:00."

Luna selected a packet of chai, figuring it was close enough despite its sweetness. "I can't speak for anyone else, but I like to be up before the sun. It's always around the time the maids start fixing everything up and I like helping them." Daewon's eyes widened at the word "maids" and he hopped off of the counter.

"Does everyone have maids in the UK?" He looked the younger girl up and down, from her messy braid to her ghost white skin that hadn't appeared to ever receive a tan, to her extremely casual outfit.  
"Because you don't seem like the type to come from money," he finished, not even bothering with a "no offense".

"No, not everyone," explained Luna as she prepared her tea with an electric kettle. She didn't let Daewon's comment get to her—she was used to such assumptions by now. "And if it were up to me, I wouldn't even have them. But they've taught me everything I know." She sighed almost longingly, as if she missed them. She poured the now boiled water into a mug. "Self-sufficiency especially."

Daewon said nothing more, having already lost interest in the conversation. This left the two in a long but not necessarily uncomfortable silence. That was, until Dalton came clambering into the kitchen with Jordan following closely behind.

"Mornin' everyone! I can't say I expected so many of us to be up by now. This is usually prime cow-milking time for me." He wrapped an arm around a startled Jordan. "What about you, man?"

"I'm just more of an early bird. Football—soccer, whatever—practice used to always be at 7:00 in the morning. Even though I don't play anymore my bio clock is still set to my practice schedule."

"Well, I'm gonna whip up some grub. Anyone opposed to scrambled eggs? The whole 'vegan thing' still hasn't made it to my town yet but I'm an open-minded guy. I can always make pancakes instead."

"Pancakes _also_ require eggs, Dalton," informed Luna. "But I'm fine with either."

"Just ate," went Daewon, who was already slinking his way out of the kitchen. "Gonna check out the dance studio. Later."

Dalton began to fish around the kitchen for ingredients and cookware before pausing. "I still don't know what I'm making, y'all."

Jordan took the initiative of finding a frying pan. "Why not both? I can help."

"Me too," chimed in Luna. "I was taught the most amazing vanilla pancakes recipe."

"Vanilla pancakes? Now that sounds tasty. But, I'm sure it's no match for my world-famous scrambled eggs! My ma taught me how to make them. Wins me second place at the county fair every year."

Jordan asked, "Why only second?" just as Luna asked, "why does a county fair have a _scrambled eggs_ contest?" Dalton ignored both of their questions as he stuck his head into the fridge.

Twelve minutes later, a few batches of eggs and a short stack of pancakes were on the counter. The trio continued cooking, figuring that they could surprise everyone in making breakfast for the whole group. At this time, Millie made her way into the kitchen, stopping in place upon seeing the other three already in there.

Jordan was first to notice her, greeting with a "Good morning, Millie. Sleep well?"

Millie didn't respond, for she was too busy glaring daggers into Luna's skull. Luna maintained her focus on the pancakes, not wanting to bother with another one of the drama queen's tantrums. Eventually Millie sat at the counter, but didn't make a move for the food already prepared. She inhaled through her nose and breathed out through her mouth, and suddenly a giant smile was on her round face.

"To answer your question Jordan, I slept great! Even though I almost got eliminated last night by my team, there's absolutely no hard feelings at all. I'd just like to know who voted for me and details as to why, is all! Luna, would you like to go first?"

The Brit groaned internally, still facing away from Millie as she flipped over a pancake. "If you must know," she said. "I actually voted for Twyla."

Millie blinked, opened her mouth and almost immediately closed it. She then wordlessly got out of her seat and ran over to Luna, hugging her from behind, which startled the smaller girl into flipping a pancake straight off the pan and onto the floor. Luna seethed.

**CONFESSIONAL: Luna**

"**I voted Twyla off from a practical standpoint. She couldn't sing, plain and simple. It was nothing personal, and it's not like I necessarily had a higher opinion of Millie. She can be quite grating sometimes. Or, most times. Either way, I did it because it made the most sense for the team, **_**not**_** because I wanted Millie to stay."**

Luna shrugged the older girl off of her, and silently tossed the fallen pancake into the trash. While she was prepping a new pancake, Millie was blathering on about how she didn't know who she could trust anymore.

"The votes were just too close! So, I know _I_ voted for Twyla, and _you_ voted for Twyla, so that means only three others valued my talents enough to not vote me off. Unless someone voted for Leon…" She trailed off and groaned. "Ugh! I need an exact tally of the votes. Would you happen to know how everyone else voted, Luna?"

"I'm making breakfast, Millie. And, to be quite frank, voting is anonymous for a reason."

Jordan plated another batch of eggs and handed it to Millie. "I can see where you're coming from. It would be pretty awkward to look in the eyes of people that probably wanted you gone the night before. That would give anyone trust issues." As someone who had been betrayed by a friend before, Jordan knew the sting of having to pretend everything is well and good to their face.

"Thank you! I knew I wasn't being irrational!"

"You definitely are," muttered Luna, inspiring a light chuckle from Dalton. Despite everything, he too had some pity for the girl.

"Here's what I'll say, Millie: I don't think there's much point in hoppin' off the saddle over a missed jump, y'know?"

Millie's eyebrows furrowed. "I studied country idioms for my role in my school's production of _Annie Get Your Gun _and I have _never_ heard that before. Could you translate to English?"

Dalton sighed and clarified with, "So you almost got voted off, so what? There ain't no use throwing a fuss over it. You got another chance to prove yourself, why not make the most of it?"

"I appreciate that," said Millie. "But, I can't put my heart into 'making the most of it' until I know who has it out for my head. That doesn't mean I plan on slacking. If anything, I'm running entirely on spite at the moment." The theater geek returned to her seat with her plate of eggs. "So, Luna, if you _do_ happen to know who voted for me last night, just let them know I'm bringing my A-game today and that they have much to be worried about." Luna rolled her eyes but nodded, if only to get Millie off her back. She walked over to the seated girl with the frying pan, and unceremoniously dumped the pancake onto Millie's plate.

Eventually most of the teens were in the kitchen, save for Daewon who was using the privacy of the dance studio to get in some much needed yoga. Millie, still upset with her team, had left her seat at the counter and was now leaned up against a set of cabinets. She observed her teammates carefully in an effort to ascertain who could've voted her off.

Gemini was chatting away with Dalton by the fridge about their shared affinity for the acoustic guitar. Brianna was next to her, Gemini being the only person she felt entirely comfortable talking to on her team now that Twyla was gone. The blonde spotted Hayato from the corner of her eye seated at the counter, causing her to practically hide behind the taller girl.

Zavier was trying (and failing) to describe the concept of his newest mixtape to Erica and Janice, who were trying very hard not to laugh.

"It's like the story of a king who gets usurped by his own brother, right? And then his son has to come up and take over, but he's haunted by all these worries and fears about his dad and about being a good enough ruler. Each song is a reflection of his thoughts from his dad's funeral, to his first day as king. It's dope, I'm telling you."

"So…," began Janice, a wobbly smile on her face. "You're telling me you made a mixtape about…_The Lion King_?"

Erica snorted. "I was gonna say _Hamlet_ but same difference."

Janice nudged the other girl playfully. "You could even argue for _Black Panther_."

Zavier crossed his arms, ignoring the oncoming flush to his cheeks. "What? If Beyoncé can make a _Lion King_ mixtape, why can't I?"

"Honey, you aren't Beyoncé though…" replied Janice, causing Erica to guffaw at Zavier's expense. The Soundcloud rapper pouted and moved on to someone who would hopefully appreciate his vision.

Leon was up and showing Jalen a hip-swiveling dance move at the latter's behest. Leon executed the move perfectly, and beckoned for Jalen to follow. Jalen jerked his hips around clumsily, knocking into Nadine who had been trying to get to Leon.

"Sorry! I was just trying to learn this one move. I didn't mean to bump into you." The jazz singer's apologetic smile turned into a skeevy one. "Unless you want me to bump into you, in which case the kitchen might not be the best place for that."

Nadine gasped and, in a flash, slapped Jalen. The boy's head whipped to the side, and everyone in the kitchen froze in shock.

For two seconds, at least. Aside from Jalen and Nadine, everyone else quickly went back to what they were doing.

Jalen touched his left cheek. "Okay, yeah, I deserved that. Sincerest apologies."

Nadine placed her hands on her hips and marched past Jalen to get to Leon. "Sorry about hurting your friend, but who in the Hades talks to people like that? He'd get skewered if anyone caught him speaking to a young lady like that where I'm from." She shook the situation off and smiled brightly at Leon. "Anyways, I never got to thank you for what you did for me yesterday during dodgeball. You didn't have to do that, especially since it was everyone for themselves out there. I owe you one."

The blonde and orange haired man laughed loudly and clapped a hand on Nadine's shoulder. "You owe me nothing! It was the right thing to do and I lost nothing from doing it. I'm willing to give anyone a hand who needs it, even if we're on different teams."

"Well, bless you. Not many people here would be willing to do the same." She noticed her brother her brother staring daggers at both her and Leon, and turned her head in the other direction so fast she nearly got whiplash. Luckily, she saw Eleanor talking to Ariana at the dining table, so she made a hasty retreat to her new friend after politely bidding Leon adieu.

Jalen walked closer to Leon, his shoulders slumped and the corners of his mouth turned downward. "What am I doing wrong? How come girls always approach you? You and Gemini got on great last night after the elimination ceremony, and now you got girls coming over to _bless you_? What's your secret, man?"

Leon raised an eyebrow. "There is no secret, my friend. I just treat everyone the same. I think you just need to be yourself!" He rubbed absently at his left arm, which was covered in bandages. "But, why does it matter? Your moves clearly work outside of the show. How else would you have gotten that beautiful woman on your wall to go out with you?"

Jalen blanched and started scratching the back of his head. "Right. The beautiful woman who is 100% my girl on the outside. Totally didn't forget about that." Jalen quickly changed the subject. "So! Mind showing me that move again? I have a hunch today's challenge is gonna be a dance one."

Leon smiled. "Of course, my friend!"

Nadine made her way over to Eleanor and sat down next to her. The other girl was listening with rapt attention as Ariana described her video-making process.

**CONFESSIONAL: Ariana**

"**I knew I had a fan in here. Turns out, Eleanor has seen all my videos. This'll make manipulating her too easy. I mean," the Youtuber flipped her raven tresses over her shoulder and smirked at the camera. "My gumdrops would do **_**anything**_** for me."**

"So is it true that SuddenlySadie's fans still have it out for you? I thought it was just a rumor but when I saw your most recent Instagram post, half the comments were people with Sadie icons commenting with the snake emoji. How is there still drama?"

Ariana nodded but internally rolled her eyes. She was tired of talking about her old beef with the former #1 beauty vlogger SuddenlySadie, which may or may not have been entirely her fault. Her subscribers didn't need to know that. "Believe me, babe, I have no idea. It's been half a year and those clout-chasers keep bringing up old things to 'expose' me, but it's all a load of crap. It's not my fault Sadie deleted her channel. She made that decision herself." She took a pointed sip of her orange juice. "You understand, don't you?"

Eleanor's head bobbed forward and back at an almost violent speed. "Of course! I don't know how you do it, Ariana. I'm awful at taking criticism; I can't imagine facing it every single day."

"Please, call me Ari," requested the Youtuber. "And, it's all about confidence. I'm sure I can help build yours so you can be just as confident as I am." She placed a hand on Eleanor's, and the younger girl beamed.

Luna was sat down at a smaller table in the corner with Genevieve and Ivan. Geneveive had asked the inevitable question about Ivan's violin skills, putting Ivan slightly on the spot. Seeing as it was only two other people, and they were the farthest away from everyone else in the kitchen, he figured he might as well tell them the truth. Besides, though he had only been talking to the girls for less than an hour, he found them to be trustworthy—or at least, not the type to use someone's personal information against them. Luna was harmless and Genevieve, though curious, didn't seem the malicious type.

"Well…in Russia, I am, or was, considered a bit of a prodigy…" whispered the messy-haired boy. Genevieve gasped and clapped her dainty hands together, while Luna raised an impressed eyebrow.

"Wow, no wonder you were so brilliant up there," complimented Luna.

"Isn't that exciting?" Genevieve asked. "I'm sure you've travelled all over the country, right? Did you go to some sort of performing arts school? How'd you get into it?"

Ivan was a tad perturbed by the onslaught of questions, but was fully prepared to answer until Dustin approached him from behind, slapping his hands on the back of Ivan's chair. "Hey Ivan, are you gonna finish those eggs? They're _addicting_."

Ivan quickly pushed his full plate of eggs to the side, allowing for Dustin to snatch it up, throwing a quick "thanks!" behind his back as he returned to where he was sitting at the counter. Ivan was met with the inquisitive stare of Genevieve.

"You barely touched your eggs. You didn't even ask for pancakes. Are you vegan? I'm sure Dalton could've made something else for you."

"No, it's fine. I'm just not much of a breakfast person." This was a lie. Ivan loved breakfast in theory. But his mind was always too full of musical compositions to remember to actually eat it.

"Ah," replied Genevieve, her own mind rife with activity.

**CONFESSIONAL: Genevieve **

"**I've met a lot of people with intriguing lives so far. But Ivan's is certainly the one that piques my interest the most. A child prodigy with a couple secrets up his sleeve? There's just so much potential!" She clasped her hands together. "I'm going to do as much research as I can on him. An intensive study on the mind of a prodigy—oh my Psych 302 professor would be so proud!"**

Dustin sat his new plate of eggs next to Chiara, who was receiving an impromptu English lesson from Devon. Dustin raised his eyebrows at this, surprised that the typically judgmental Devon would actually take the time to help someone else.

Devon seemed to read the Filipino boy's mind as he regarded him. "What? My father's church takes in non-English speaking immigrants all the time; we have ESL services and everything. It's what Jesus would have done, after all."

Hayato huffed as he stabbed a fork into his pancakes. "Would Jesus appreciate your constant nagging, too?" Dark bags hung under his eyes. "You even do it in your sleep. I hardly got any last night because you were too busy dreaming about bossing some other poor soul around." He dislodged the fork from the pancakes and pointed it threateningly at Chiara. "I 100% blame you for making us share a bunk, Chiara." The Italian's murky blue eyes widened quickly, before returning to their default deadpan stare.

"Perhaps it will be good to—no _for_—you. The both of you could learn a thing or two from each other," said the sage clown.

Devon grumbled something along the lines of "I don't know about all that" before grabbing his own fork and pointing it dangerously close to Hayato's face. The Japanese boy glared at his bespectacled assailant. At this point, half the kitchen was watching.

"Take that fork out of my face or—"

"Hush up, demon. Away with you!"

"Damn, Dalton," shouted Erica in an effort to drown out the potential fight. "These eggs are too good."

Dustin nodded and swallowed his own forkful of eggs. "Right? It's like he seasoned them with crack."

"Crack?!" Went Devon, his already high-pitched voice going an octave higher. "There's crack cocaine in my eggs?!" He pushed his plate away and searched the room for Nadine. "Nadine, we are _out of here_! We've been poisoned!"

"No! On my Grandma Bertha-Mae's grave there is absolutely no crack in these eggs! Please don't go around spreading lies, I could get the recipe disqualified from next year's county fair!"

"Sorry," said Dustin. "I just meant that they taste really good and I'd probably sell my brothers' PlayStation for the recipe."

Nadine hung her head low in shame as her brother calmed down. He smoothed out his sweater-vest and sat back down. "One shouldn't joke about those sorta things. Crack is whack."

Erica facepalmed. "The hell is this, a D.A.R.E. assembly? We are literally in a crackhouse."

"Opium den," Aaron corrected from his spot at the bay window between Jordan and Zane.

"Definitely a meth lab, it just has that feel," said Kirsten.

Rina, who was near the entrance of the kitchen with Drew, cocked her head. "I'm sure you know your way around a meth lab, huh Kirsten?"

Kirsten was by her within seconds. "Listen, bitch, I haven't said one word to you all morning. It would behoove you to shut the hell up and stay out of my way."

Rina's calm expression remained unchanged. "Funny. Didn't expect you to know words like 'behoove'. I guess even you're full of surprises." Drew just barely managed to hold Kirsten back from charging at Rina.

Before anyone could speak, a crackling sounded from overhead. A few soft bangs followed, eventually giving way to a familiar voice going, "Is this thing on?" The owner of the voice, Chris, then shouted, "Good morning contestants! You liking the intercom system we installed? And by 'we', I totally mean the interns. Who's excited for yet another day on Total Drama Takes the Stage?" The teens clapped and a few even cheered. Chris continued, "Well now that you're all up and fed, make your way over to the dance studio. That's where we'll be doing our next mini challenge. Be there in an hour or lose by default!" With that, the crackling ended.

The contestants stared at each other for a beat before throwing everything and running in the direction of the entrance. Only Luna stayed behind. Devon stopped in his tracks, causing Erica to bump into him.

"Halt! Everyone, halt! We've left this kitchen a mess!" Erica sucked her teeth at him and ran after the rest of the teens, who hadn't stopped at all at Devon's call.

The southerner pouted and turned to Luna. "I suppose it's just the two of us. So be it. I'm not surprised at those heathens one bit. They say that cleanliness is next to godliness, and most of those swine are straight up godless. Can I get an amen?" He raised his hand for Luna to high-five, but the Brit had already started on cleaning up. Devon sighed and joined her.

* * *

An hour later, everyone was in the dance studio, the last ones to arrive being Devon and Luna. Daewon looked irritated at having his yoga session interrupted. Chris, Blaineley, and Don made their way into the room, followed by Chef.

"Welcome, contestants, to your second mini challenge!" greeted Chris.

"Today," said Don. "You'll be learning one of the most important rules of life: how to follow instructions."

Blaineley nodded earnestly. "Even big pop superstars need to listen to their managers. And, believe me, the worst ones are the ones that treat their managers like trash. Like, did you hear about that one girl-group's manager that spilled that those girls _never_—"

Chris threw a hand on the talk show host's mouth. "Okay, Blaineley, I think they get it. So, for this mini challenge, Chef will be guiding you through a game of Chef Says."

"Don't you mean 'Simon Says'?" asked Brianna.

"I mean, duh, but no one here is named Simon so, Chef Says it is!"

Blaineley tore Chris hand from her mouth, digging her acrylic nails into his palm. "The object of the game is to do whatever Chef says—as long as he actually says, 'Chef says' before his instruction."

"And that means _anything_," added Chris with a sneer. "Nothing is off the table here, folks."

Don coughed. "Except, y'know, anything illegal."

"Or anything we can't show on TV," Blaineley added.

Chef checked his watch and said, "Or anything that'll take more than a minute. We're on a schedule, man."

"Okay, fine! So, a lot of things are off the table. But that doesn't mean we aren't pushing the envelope, got it?"

"The team with the most members still playing at the end of the game wins a sabotage," said Don.

Chris rubbed his hands together. "A-whoa-ho, the first sabotage of the game. This is a lot at stake, you guys. Better make sure you're listening to Chef!"

Chef took a deck of cards from out of his apron and stood in front of the contestants. "We ready?" He was met with a chorus of affirmatives. "Alright, spread out a little so I can tell who's doing what." Eleven of the teens did just that, only to realize far too late that that was the first instruction.

"Wait, no, that's not fair!" cried Janice.

"Yeah, you didn't even say that the game had started yet," Jordan reasoned.

Chef shrugged and deadpanned, "I said, 'we ready?' and y'all said 'yeah'. Was that not the beginning of the game?" The eleven teens grumbled but made their way over to the side of the studio to make more room for the others.

Team Blaineley was in the worst shape due to Chef's first instruction. They were already down one member and had just lost another four. Only Zane, Gemini, Luna, and Millie remained. Team Don had also lost four of their teammates, leaving only Daewon, Ivan, Dustin, Drew, and Rina. Team Chris had the most members still, having only lost three, leaving Aaron, Chiara, Hayato, Genevieve, Devon, and Erica.

"Next one," said Chef. "Chef says slap yourself three times on the left cheek, and once on the right."

"What kinda instructions are these?" asked an outraged Devon.

"Dude, if you don't just do what the man says…" growled Erica as she slapped herself silly.

Devon complied, along with the rest of the contestants.

Chris placed a hand on his chest. "Ah, dontcha just love the sound of kids making complete idiots of themselves on national television in the morning?"

"Alright, Chef says…stomp on the foot of whoever gets on your last nerve."

"Does that include the judges?" asked Rina.

Chris frowned. "Haha, yeah, no."

Erica almost immediately stomped on Devon's foot with her heavy, chunky FILAs. Devon shouted, "yow!" and grabbed at his foot. Seeing as the foot affected was his prominent one, he was only able to feebly kick at Erica's ankle.

"I said stomp, not kick! You're out, Devon."

"How am I supposed to follow instructions if this heavy-foot jezebel is going around with the intention to break toes?!"

As Devon hobbled past her to wait with the others, Erica slapped him harshly on the back and whispered, "I'm gonna pretend you didn't just call me that, for your own good. Thank me later."

Daewon ran from the middle of the studio to stomp on Dalton's foot.

**CONFESSIONAL: Daewon**

"**What? I just think he's corny. I don't care enough about anyone here to have formed a deeper opinion than that."**

Drew was hot on the would-be idol's heels and quickly stomped Daewon's foot. Daewon scowled at the blue-eyed boy and dusted off his white, pristine dancing shoes. He bumped Drew's shoulder on his way back to the center of the studio, but a satisfied smile remained on Drew's face.

Millie had also left the center to stomp on Zavier's foot. She did it with her trademark rosy-cheeked Stepford Smile as Zavier watched her crush his Yeezys with glee. "What the hell are you doing to my Yeezys?!"

"It's nothing personal. I just know you voted against me last night. You were complaining too much, so I know you were one of the traitors who…well, betrayed me!"

"You are one crazy bitch, Millie," said Zavier, and as if on cue, Zane approached her and stomped on her foot.

"Aha!" went Millie. "You voted me out too, right Zane? I'm just surrounded by—"

"I definitely voted for Twyla. It was the obvious choice. I just think you're annoying."

Millie stood still before dragging her feet back to the center, mumbling something about not being annoying under her breath.

Rina had, of course, left to stomp on Kirsten's foot, taking glee in the other girl's furious expression. Gemini stomped on Jalen, citing his constant flirting as the reason with a grimace. Luna also went after Millie, much to the theater geek's chagrin, and Dustin went for Daewon, who in his mind was just way too aloof for his tastes. Ivan secretly wanted to stomp on Dustin, but didn't have the heart or energy to do so, so he shrugged and simply walked off to the side.

Rina was the first to notice. "What are you doing, Ivan? Get back here and stomp on someone's foot!"

"You guys might be fine with starting unnecessary drama but not I. You'll be fine without me."

"It's just a game, Ivan. No one is actually taking this personally," informed Drew. "Am I right?" No one responded. "Well, lookie there, folks _are_ taking this personally. Maybe that was a good call."

Aaron seemed to think so too, because he also walked away from the game. He apologized with, "I know I'm abandoning the team, but this just isn't right. I honestly don't have much of a problem with any of you, and even if I did this would be a pretty immature way of handling it. The rest of you got this, alright?"

Genevieve joined him. "I find no one aggravating. For every personality trait one may find particularly grating, there is a backstory. I make no judgments unless I have all the facts. I'll be cheering you on from the sidelines!"

In turn, Chiara stomped on Hayato, and Hayato stomped on Devon's other foot.

The rest of the game went on as expected, with Chef upping the ante until pretty much everyone still playing was fairly bruised and battered. He threw in enough curveballs so that eventually only Zane, Millie, Drew, Chiara, and Erica were left. Chef checked the last few cards he had and snickered.

"Y'all did better than I thought. I figured there'd only be a couple of you left by now. Luckily for me, that means I get to throw these last few at you." The five teens looked at each other nervously, but stood tall in the face of Chef's wrath. "Chef says…tell everyone your biggest fear."

Erica was first to go. "Rats. And, losing my sisters. But mostly rats."

Drew rolled his eyes. He wasn't up for revealing his weaknesses to people he didn't trust—hell, he didn't even like revealing such things to people he _did_ trust. But, for the sake of the game, he said, "the idea of being put in a high position and not knowing how to do shit. Not that that would ever happen to me but…"

"Forgetting my lines, 100%. And the possibility that everyone secretly hates me." She eyed the rest of her teammates pointedly.

"Why is everyone so serious? I just really hate blood. Bugs freak me out too," said Zane, shrugging.

Chiara was silent for a moment but spoke, in an almost monotone voice, "Tight, confined spaces." His purple and gold-rimmed eyes appeared hollow.

Chef huffed. "You're good. But this next instruction is better." He cleared his throat. "You've stomped on the foot of the person you think is the most irritating…well now Chef says kiss the hand of the person you find most attractive. Again, that does not include the judges. That's just weird."

"And illegal!"

Millie groaned. She did not believe in showmances. They were nothing but trouble. She didn't know from personal experience, of course, but she did have friends—okay, acquaintances—who had been in showmances that essentially ruined the entire production. Besides, even if she did find anyone attractive, she was too distrustful to acknowledge it. Thus, she was the first of the final five to leave the game.

Chiara considered his options. Though he hadn't thought about it very much, he had to say Drew was objectively the best looking of the bunch. But, a boy like Drew seemed to feed off that kind of validation, so the pagliaccio turned his mind to another. Leon was handsome in a multitude of ways, and Daewon was stunning. He eventually settled on Leon, and walked over to the lion-maned boy with grace. Stopping in front of him, he leaned over to the point that he was practically at a 90-degree angle, gently took the boy's hand, and pressed his lips against it. The typically lone clown didn't chance to even look at Leon, but if he had, he would've noticed a light blush on his tan face.

Erica chewed the inside of her cheek and took a quick peek at the person who fit that bill. She looked away before anyone could pick the movement up and dragged her feet over to the sidelines to declare herself out of the game.

**CONFESSIONAL: Erica**

"**I know, I know, it was a wuss move, but I had no choice. I've barely said two words to this chick and I don't want to freak her out before I could even introduce myself. Is that so bad?"**

Drew rubbed his hands in anticipation. He could taste the chaos his next move would cause on his tongue. He straightened his blazer and sauntered over to Kirsten.

"Now, like I said before, none of you take this too personally, capiche? I think you're all just gorgeous. Except the ugly ones." He chuckled at his own joke. "Clown boy, now that I know you're into dudes, hit me up sometime." Chiara narrowed his eyes at Drew and turned his nose up in the air. Drew was unperturbed. "But, until then, Miss Laverre," he took the girl's hand a kissed it softly, not unlike the way he had Rina's hand the night before. "You are by far the most beautiful girl in this joint. And, I don't say that lightly."

Kirsten recoiled her hand, as if burned. She held it close to her torso, and scrunched up her mouth tightly. None of this distracted from the quick reddening of her face, which is exactly what Drew wanted. He returned to his spot with an extra pep in his step, ignoring the loud stares of both a conflicted Kirsten and a slightly jealous Rina.

Zane was the only one left in the game who had not yet found someone to kiss. The potential consequences for whatever decision he made would be bleak. He couldn't kiss someone he actually found attractive, like say Genevieve or Brianna or Eleanor. That would be showing too much too soon, and would inevitably leave him weak. But, he couldn't pretend to be attracted to some poor soul just for the sake of the game—even _he_ knew that would be cruel. He pondered for a moment longer before Chef yelled, "boy, make a decisionalready!" Zane sighed.

"Fine, I'll kiss—"

"And, you're out! I didn't say 'Chef says'," said Chef, beaming. Zane's right eye twitched but he accepted defeat and exited the center.

"Team Blaineley is officially out! Team Chris, Team Don, I have one more card left. It's a tough one. Hell, we might be here all day. But, I know for sure it's gonna get one of you bozos out. Ready?"

"Born ready, Chef," replied Drew while Chiara simply nodded. Chef read the final card.

"Chef says…cry on the spot. Right here, right now. And, I'm not talking glassy eyes or a tiny tear or two, I'm talking full on sobbing. Think you can do that?"

Drew waved his hands in a thrashing motion in front of his eyes, hoping that the small wind would produce some kind of moisture. If that didn't work, he could always think about his time in foster care or—

A tortured note sounded from Chiara's mouth as golden tears spilled from his eyes. He clutched his chest as if in physical pain. Despite it all, he had a small smile on his face, for he knew he had won.

Drew was flabbergasted. "How the fu—"

"Team Chris wins the mini challenge!" Yelled Chris, pumping his arms into the air. His team ran to the center of the room and lifted up Chiara in the air. Though the pagliacco was startled at first, he managed to maintain his usual stoic expression. To the trained eye, however, one would be able to tell he was happy.

Chef took one last look at his card and crumpled it up. "It wasn't supposed to be _that_ easy."

"Alright, contestants," went Chris. "You have a few hours of free time until the main challenge. Use that time to ice some of those bruises because they do _not_ look pretty. Meet in the lobby where we'll give you instructions."

As everyone started to file out of the dance studio, Hayato turned to ask "But what about our sabotage?"

Chris flippantly waved his hand. "Don't worry about it." He shooed the rest of the teens out and faced his fellow judges.

"I'm rewatching the footage of them slapping themselves _right now_. Care to join me?"

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed that chapter! Which rivalries are you looking forward to the most? Which potential friendships are you interested in? Which character so far is your favorite? **

**I've decided I'll be splitting up all episodes into two parts. The mini challenges take up A LOT of space and I don't want to force people to read 14,000 words in one sitting. The next half of the episode will be out this Friday! Thanks again! **


	8. Jump in the Line (PART 2)

Hours later, the contestants found themselves in the lobby. The tension in the air was particularly thick, much to the coaches' unabashed delight. In the time since the mini challenge, four arguments had broken out, a foot was stomped on once again (Devon had to soak his feet in warm water), and a threat or two was made. Team Chris was at least in some form of good spirits due to their win, but there was no telling how long that would last.

"So, who's in the mood for some good ol' fashioned teamwork?" went Chris, chipper as ever. "You, Hayato? You look like you can't wait to bond with your teammates!" Hayato, already stone-faced, simply raised his middle finger at Chris. "Okay! Blaineley, would you mind introducing this next challenge?"

"Believe it or not, we didn't put you through that _splendid_ game of Chef Says just for our own sick amusement…" Blaineley cupped a hand around her mouth and leaned towards Don, stage-whispering, "though that was definitely part of it." She straightened up and continued, "You'll need to know how to follow directions with expert precision to win this challenge. Today, you'll be performing line dances!"

Several teens groaned, Ariana being particularly disgusted.

**CONFESSIONAL: Ariana**

"**Line dancing? Could this challenge be any tackier?" She crossed her arms and tossed her hair over her shoulder in one fluid motion. "I signed up for this show so I could sing and gain subscribers. So far, I've sung **_**once**_** and it was completely drowned out by everyone else! And, I've gained only…" she pulled out her phone, which was technically against the rules since all phones were supposed to be turned in the day before. "Barely over a thousand! Like, what the hell? My goal was to earn 20,000 by the end of the week, but at this rate that'll never happen." She sighed. "Maybe I was better off staying at my dad's this summer."**

Don pulled out three CDs and raised them for the contestants to see. "Here we have three different music genres that you can select from: a Latin line dance, a Disco line dance, and a Country line dance. The CDs will play just the instrumental—it's your job to come up with the lyrics and steps. You'll have one hour to prepare your dance and you'll be performing it in the theater."

"To win, you'll need to be perfectly synchronized," informed Chris. "If anyone misses a single step, your chances of winning are slim. The moves also have to correspond with the genre, so don't think you can avoid looking like a total loser while doing disco moves!"

Blaineley snorted. "Speaking of looking like losers, you'll have to wear costumes. They're available in the dressing room."

Chris clapped his hands together and approached his team. "So, Team Chris, seeing as you guys won the mini challenge, you get first pick on your genre."

Blaineley crossed her arms. "Hm, no they don't."

"Um, why not?"

"Getting first pick sounds like an advantage. They won a _sabotage_. Those are two totally different things."

Chris frowned, making his worry-lines that he always tried so hard to hide pop. "Aw, c'mon, Blaineley, all these songs are bad anyway! Does it matter if one is slightly less bad than the other?"

"Nuh-uh, rules are rules. Your team can get second pick." She snapped a finger to beckon her team forward. "Come now, kiddies. Pick a song and—"

"Wait, if anyone should go first it's my team!" butted in Don. "They got second place in the mini challenge, after all." He held out the CDs in Team Don's direction. "Pick one, before these two change their minds."

Daewon pondered the options. "They all do sound pretty bad, but I think we can actually do a lot with Disco if we—" Daewon was cut off by Dalton jumping forward and snatching the country CD out of Don's hand.

"Ah, Country it is..." said Don, cringing slightly at the decision. He then turned to Team Chris, leaving his team to argue amongst themselves.

Daewon was furious. "Why did you do that? Do you want us to lose?!"

Dalton clutched the CD close to his chest. "'Course not. Matter of fact, I know we can win with this record right here. I led the square dance at my little sister's 13th birthday and everyone loved it! Just trust me on this, y'all."

Sensing the discontent in the air, Dustin offered, "I trust Dalton. Out of everyone here, he's definitely the best person to lead a country dance. We can do this, guys!"

Rina rolled her eyes but relented. "Whatever. Let's get ready to hoe-down, then."

Over at Team Chris, the contestants were deliberating between the remaining two options.

"We still have a sabotage, right?" asked Erica. "So, it shouldn't matter which one we pick."

Janice tilted her head, her silky, dark locks falling over her shoulder revealing the purple dip-dye at the ends. "Yeah, but do you want to _not_ _lose_ or do you want to _win_? If we rely solely on the sabotage, that doesn't guarantee us a win."

"Fine. Who can dance Latin?" Erica raised her own hand, followed by only Janice and Ariana. "Okay…Disco it is, I guess."

Janice looked between the three of them. "Why? We can just teach everyone else how to do it, it shouldn't be that hard."

"We only have an hour, dude. Let's stick with something easy that everyone already knows." With that, Erica took the disco CD from Don.

"Looks like that leaves Team Blaineley with Latin," said Don as he handed the CD to Zavier.

"Alright, contestants," said Chris, as he stepped aside to show a row of boomboxes. "Each team needs to take a boombox and find a space to practice. After your hour is up, head to the theater if you're not already there. Your hour starts….now!"

A member from each team grabbed a boombox and the contestants headed off in various directions. Team Don ran off to the theater to reclaim their practice space from the last challenge, Team Blaineley zoomed up the stairs to get to the dance studio, and Team Chris scattered around the lobby, anxiously waiting for Chris to give them their sabotage.

**TEAM CHRIS**

"So, Chris, what is it already?" begged Hayato. "Are we breaking someone's leg or what?"

"No, my temperamental, little gremlin-child. We'd get sued. _Hard_. Besides, I'm not telling you guys yet. Focus on your dance first. I'll be back with your sabotage…eventually." Almost immediately, Chris left the lobby, just barely avoiding his team's hostility.

Aaron moved quickly to calm his teammates down. "It'll be alright, guys. We just need to make sure our dance is flawless. Erica, would you mind popping in the CD so we can hear what we're working with?"

The city-slicker gave Aaron a thumbs-up and inserted the CD. The boombox began playing a jaunty, funkadelic tune that sounded like a mix of "The Hustle" and "Boogie Shoes".

"You know, back in my father's day, this was considered devil music and anyone who dared dance to it was likened to—"

Erica interrupted the bespectacled boy with, "Hey Devon? Do me a favor, yeah?"

"And what would that be?"

"Shut. The hell. Up."

Aaron approached Erica from behind and placed his hands on her shoulders in an attempt to calm her down. She shrugged him off, though not in an unfriendly manner. He continued, "Okay, okay, anyway! Let's try to think of some steps. We could do, uh…" he pointed his right hand into the air and then pointed it down towards his left side, with his other hand on his hip. "That move John Travolta does in _Saturday Night Fever_? Not that I would know anything about _Saturday Night Fever_. I definitely haven't seen it fourteen times. Anyway! We could do that and—"

Aaron stopped when Hayato sunk into a perfect split and gracefully pulled himself up as if there wasn't a single bone in his legs. "How about that?"

Jordan shook his head. "Yeah, um, apologies but I couldn't do that even if I wanted to."

"Big same," said Ariana just as Genevieve went, "That can't be healthy, Hayato."

Janice shook her head and stepped up. "We're never gonna get anywhere like this. I can choreograph and anything that someone can't do, we'll just improvise for. Anyone opposed?" Silence followed. "Good."

"I can come up with the lyrics, if that's alright," offered Jordan.

"That'll be perfect. The rest of you can just…speak amongst yourselves until we come up with something."

"Whoa, what?" went Aaron.

Janice raised an eyebrow. "Is there a problem?"

"No, it's just we're a team, and we should work together as one, don't you think?"

"Haven't you ever heard the phrase, 'too many chefs in the kitchen ruin the pot'?" rationalized Janice.  
"We don't need nine people choreographing a three-minute dance."

"I'm chill with that," said Erica, and a few others nodded in agreement.

"Fine," relented Aaron with a sigh.

**CONFESSIONAL: Aaron**

"**Sue me for wanting us to work together, okay? It's just when I hear the word 'team', I think of people equally contributing to reach a common goal. Do you know how many games I would've lost if I didn't have my basketball team working together?" He sunk low in his chair. "I really hope no one finds out I said this, but…I don't think Janice really knows what she's doing."**

**TEAM BLAINELEY**

"Welp, we're screwed. Again," mumbled Zavier.

Leon stopped his quick demonstration of the difference between Bachata and Samba. "What makes you say that, my friend?"

Zavier placed his hands on top of his head. "Unless we're allowed to copy the Macarena step-for-step, there's no way in hell we'll be able to pull this off. You're the only one here who dances Latin."

"I can teach you all, just like how I taught Jalen this morning!"

"Didn't Jalen get slapped because his dancing was so bad, or something?" Zane asked.

Jalen ripped off his fedora and pointed it at Zane. "Hey! Yes, I was slapped, and yes, my dancing wasn't…perfect…" Jalen faltered. "But one had absolutely nothing to do with the other!"

Millie rolled her eyes and told Leon, "I may not be an expert, but I was in _West Side Story_ my freshman year and there were a couple dance numbers that involved some Latin moves. I can help you come up with some choreography, Leon. Even though you tried to vote me off, I'm not letting that get in the way of us winning this challenge."

Luna groaned. "Queen's sake, you can't seriously still be upset about that."

"Oh, I most certainly am. But, instead of letting that turn me bitter, I'm going to find it in me to forgive you all. It will take some time, but I'm sure you'll all see your mistake once I win us this challenge." She popped in the CD and played the slow Latin tune. She prepared to get into position but did not move. She dropped her head. "But can I please just know why you would try to vote me out? What did I ever do to you people?"

Luna started to bang her head on the mirrored wall, leaving a forehead-shaped smudge on the reflective surface. Leon scratched his bandaged arm.

"Well, I will be honest. I felt bad for Twyla. And then I felt bad for not telling Twyla the truth, which cost us the challenge. Unfortunately it was not possible to vote out myself so I voted for you. I am sorry, Millie." Millie could tell that the Spaniard was completely genuine. She almost felt bad for calling him out. Almost.

"I'm not sorry," said Zavier, casting away whatever warmth Millie felt in her heart from Leon's apology. "We would've lost anyway, Chef even said so. Your 'dark reprise' idea was garbage, point blank. You can be mad about that if you want, but think about it: if you were in our place, you would've voted for you too."

"No, I would've voted for the girl with the voice like nails on a chalkboard, _not_ the girl who had a vision her team was too talentless to uphold."

"Stop!" shouted Brianna, much to the surprise of her teammates. The blonde's face reddened and she sunk in on herself, but continued to speak. "You say mean things like that and then wonder why you were close to getting voted out. Well, your attitude is why. Twyla may not have been the best singer, but she was a sweet girl that was nice to everyone. I'd rather have someone like that on my team and lose all the time, than have a bossy, rude person like you and make it to the merge."

Millie was speechless. She hadn't expected to hear that, let alone from someone like Brianna. A lump formed in her throat but she swallowed it down and asked, "Is that how you all feel? Is there anyone else who voted for me?"

"I mean," said Gemini. "That's how I feel but I voted for Twyla. She was a blast and a half but I don't see how it would've made sense to keep her on the team."

Jalen approached Millie and took her hands into his own. He stared deeply into her almond-shaped eyes and said, "I just want you to know, you can be as mean as you want, babe. I don't care at all! That's why I voted for Leon." He ignored Leon's cry of "hey!" and continued placating Millie. "So, I'm on your side 100%. If you ever need a shoulder to cry on, or someone to make out with, I'm always here."

Millie stared, mouth agape around the room. Though she was disgusted, she squeezed Jalen's hands with feigned gratitude. "Thank you, Jalen. I will definitely keep that in mind."

**CONFESSIONAL: Millie**

"**Jalen is a total creeper, but he's probably the only one I can trust right now. I can't believe I'm going to do this but…" she bit her lip and shook her head, a thousand-yard stare in her eyes. "I think I know how I'm staying in this competition." **

"Okay, we've wasted more than enough time on needless drama," said Zane. "Can we please get back on track so we can avoid _another_ elimination ceremony? Please?"

"Zane's right," agreed Millie, finally releasing herself from Jalen's sweaty grasp. "I'm sorry for taking up so much time. Leon and I will make sure this line dance is the best thing Chef has ever seen!"

Zavier shared a knowing look with Zane. "Whatever you say, man."

**TEAM DON**

"Alright, now spin around and do-si-do!" sung Dalton, clearly in his element. The rest of the team did as instructed, save for Daewon who was still in disagreement over the song choice.

Dalton noticed this and cut off the music. "Come on, Daewon, you haven't done a single step since we've started. I know you're a good dancer and all, but I'm sure even the best dancers need to rehearse, right Kirsten?"

"Right," Kirsten said with her hands on her hips. "You'd be really screwing us over if it turns out you look trash doing these moves on stage, Daewon."

"I'm not doing _shit_," replied Daewon as he broke out into a handstand. He walked with his hands across the stage. "You guys look ridiculous. There is no way to make the _do-si-do_ look good. I did not spend a year training in Korea to be doing juvenile dances like this."

Rina walked over to the boy, appearing upside-down in his line of vision. "Then why aren't you still there, hm?"

Daewon flipped back onto his feet to properly face her. "The hell is that supposed to mean?"

"If you were _such_ a good trainee, if you were _so_ talented, why are you here instead of taking the K-Pop scene by storm? Clearly they didn't think you were as good as you thought you were."

"Oh, shut up, Rina. You don't know why I left—which I did, on my own volition."

Drew was almost instantly in his face. "Hey, you don't talk to her like that, Pinky." He poked a finger into the shorter boy's chest. "Rina's right; this sounds pretty suspicious to me, dontcha think? It sounds to me like you were kicked out."

Daewon was silent for a moment before batting away Drew's finger. "It had nothing to do with my talent. They couldn't handle me. I was told when I started that I was supposed to be a solo artist and they just—they lied!" Daewon yelled, showing the most emotion he had the entire competition. "They stuck me with some low-tier wannabes that wouldn't have lasted a month in the industry post-debut. I didn't deserve that so—"

"So, what? You acted out? You didn't follow basic directions? Like you're doing right now?"

Daewon pushed Drew, causing the New Yorker to stumble back a bit. "You do not want to try me, Drew."

"Oh, maybe I do." He pushed back even harder, which resulted in Daewon attempting to pounce on the other boy.

"Hey now, none of that!" yelled Dalton, getting in between the two boys. Ivan dropped down onto the floor, his legs criss-crossed, his head in his hands.

**CONFESSIONAL: Ivan**

"**You know what's going to happen now? Daewon and Drew are going to beat each other into a pulp and neither of them are going to be fit to do the dance. Dalton will probably be hurt in the process as well and will have to sit out. We'll go out there and without Dalton's guidance, be terrible. All because we picked country." He sighed. "Remind me to never agree to a dance challenge ever again."**

Dalton successfully separated the warring boys, and took Daewon off to the side. "Listen, if we win this, you get to pick what we do in our next challenge, okay? But, for right now, I really need you to just do what I say and not kick Drew's ass. Can you do that for me?"

Daewon looked into Dalton's eyes for a few seconds before he rolled his own. "Fine. I'm doing this for me though, not for some redneck with bad taste in music." He pushed past Dalton, whose face had formed a cold expression at being insulted. The cowboy clenched his fists and inhaled, but let all the tension out once he exhaled. He straightened his hat on his head and walked to the boombox to play the music again.

* * *

Team Chris was is in one of the dressing rooms donning bell bottoms, long-collared shirts, silk vests, and jumpsuits. Ariana had curled her hair to make it appear even wavier than usual and was spinning around the room to watch the fabric of her flare dress sway. Janice had spent five minutes trying to choose between a sparkly jumpsuit and a harlequin-patterned turtleneck dress, before choosing the latter. Genevieve was dousing her hair in hairspray and Erica was strapping on the highest pair of platforms she could find.

The boys, who were separated from the girls by a curtain dividing the room, were mostly settled into their outfits. Aaron had used half a tube of hair gel to keep his hair in place, and Jordan was combing out an afro wig. Chiara had gone for a silk, frilly purple button-up and paired it with an equally purple pair of suede pants. He wore a white waistcoat-style jacket over it. Hayato was sitting still in his three-piece, large-lapelled suit and Devon was trying his best to avoid him as he tied and re-tied his ascot.

Suddenly, Chris barged into the room, slamming the door open so hard it hit the wall. "What's happening, Team Chris? You guys ready to make your favorite coach proud?"

"Dude!" cried Erica. "You can't just barge in like that!"

"And, why not? It's a free country, or whatever. Plus, I kinda own this building."

Genevieve answered, "We're minors and we could've been in a state of undress."

"Oh, right, that. Okay, let's try that again, m'kay?" Chris darted out of the room, closing the door behind him. After a mere two seconds, he knocked on the door. "Hey, it's me, Chris, totally not wanting to get sued for walking in on you guys. Is everyone decent?"

Jordan sighed and had barely said "yes" before Chris had barged back in, shouting, "Great! As I was saying, who's ready to make me proud?"

Chiara raised a finger and carefully asked Chris, "where is this sabotage we were told about?"

"Good job reminding me, because I completely forgot about that." At this, everyone groaned. "Anyway, in my hands I have copies of both Team Blaineley and Team Don's CDs." He displayed said CDs for his team to see. "Well, not exact copies. You see, they've been changed. The music's been sped up, slowed down, chopped, screwed, all that stuff. The team that gets the messed up copy will have to keep up with the music, which will be _impossible_. Your decision, Team Chris, is to decide which team gets sabotaged. You have twenty seconds to discuss before I get bored."

"Twenty seconds?" asked Hayato. "That's not enough time!"

Chris counted down, ignoring the question. "Eighteen, seventeen, sixteen…"

Aaron started to panic. "Uh…okay, Team Don won last time so it makes sense to sabotage them, right?" A few quick nods confirmed this for Aaron so he repeated his answer for Chris. The coach tossed Team Blaineley's CD over his shoulder and spun Team Don's around his finger.

"Excellent choice, team," complimented Chris, his smile becoming more sinister. "Very excellent choice, indeed."

* * *

"Here we are at our second challenge of the season!" yelled Chris into the cameras. "Our three teams have spent an hour coming up with some funky, zesty, and folksy moves! Can they keep up with the music? Or will they end up lost in the groove?"

Chef tapped restlessly at his table, waiting for his cue that the teams were ready. When an intern appeared from stage left to give a thumbs-up, Chef called, "First up, Team Blaineley."

The team sauntered on the stage in unison, dressed from head to toe in flamenco wear: long, frilly red dresses for the girls and crisp, white button-ups with tight black pants for the boys. Once everyone was in their places, the music, fueled by the sound of the marimba and maracas, started.

Leon sang the intro in Spanish, translating roughly to, "this is a dance of much beauty, will you care to dance it with me" Then, in English, he sang, "grab a partner, a lover, or a friend, let's do this dance until the end!"

The contestants shuffled about as Leon sang the instructions. "Muchachas, step up front, sway those hips without a grunt. Cha-cha-cha, spin to the left, let the fellas catch their breath. Muchachos, you know what to do, move those feet like you got a clue."

Leon, Zane, Zavier, and Jalen broke out into series of quick, winding kicks and tap-like steps with their hands behind their backs. The girls chippered and coo'd like birds at their moves before jumping back in to continue the dance.

Leon sung his next line, "Agarra a una mujer hermosa y gírala como si la conocieras," which instructed the boys to grab a girl and twirl her. The pairs then had to do a hip-swiveling move around the other while the other stayed still. Leon's final instruction was, "Couples…show us what you got! Couples…spice it up a lot!"

The team proceeded to do just that. First up were Zavier and Brianna, who took each other's hands and performed a Samba move. Zane and Luna went next, who spun around simultaneously and broke out into the cha-cha. After them, Millie and Jalen joined together and performed a quick Salsa move. As the finishing touch, Leon grabbed Gemini and threw her in the air, catching her in arms with flair. As the music came to a dramatic end, the dancers posed and yelled, "Vota por nosotros!"

The judges applauded, Blaineley most impressed of them all. She whispered to the other judges, "I'm not gonna lie, I didn't expect them to be that good." Chris frowned, muttering, "me neither" under his breath.

Chef cleared his throat, gathering the attention of the theater. "That was pretty good. Even got my hips moving for a second and I haven't shaken those since the 80s."

"That's definitely a good thing," called out Chris. "No offense dude, but no one wants to see that."

Chef side-eyed his longtime associate but continued. "You stuck to the theme, taught us some Spanish, and managed to stay in-sync. Team Blaineley, you get a 9 out of 10." The team jumped in the air and congratulated each other, with Leon receiving more than one word of praise. Zane pat the lion-maned boy on the back and Gemini pulled Leon in for a hug.

"Now that's what I call a comeback," said Blaineley with her nose high up in the air. "You two have much to fear."

Don scoffed. "Please, I'm sure my team has an even better routine. A winning streak is on its way."

Chris snickered behind his hand. "Oh, you'd think that, wouldn't you?"

Don arched an eyebrow at Chris but said nothing other than, "Alright Team Don, make your way out here!"

The team marched out, faces grim and shoulders slouched. The fight between Daewon and Drew had only driven tensions higher, and the sabotage Team Chris had up their sleeve was completely unbeknownst to Team Don. The teens were in classic bumpkin-wear: flannel shirts, daisy-dukes and short denim skirts for the girls, and tight Levi jeans for the boys. Each of them had a cowboy hat on their head, essentially making them all look like Dalton.

The music began, sounding normal enough. Dalton sung over the knee-slapping, foot-stomping music, first instructing the team to grapevine to the right, and then grapevine to the left. Right when he was about to sing for them to, "grab your belt and stomp your feet", the song slowed down to an almost demonic, abysmal sound. Dalton faltered and looked around frantically, but sang the line anyway. The rest of the team followed him, but their confusion was apparent.

"Now, shuffle and kick! Shuffle and kick!" Dalton sang, just as the music sped up to the point of sounding like a high-pitched whistle. Dalton instinctively sung faster, which resulted in his teammates trying to keep up and kicking each other in the behind. Drew kicked Daewon particularly hard, 100% on purpose but prepared to blame it on the music.

Daewon faced him, face red with anger and yelled, "watch where you kick, asshole!" Drew laughed and ignored him, choosing to follow Dalton's next sped-up instruction to spin an invisible lasso in the air. Due to the newfound speed of the song, Eleanor spun her fist around with so much intensity she ended up accidentally hitting Rina in the face. At this, Kirsten giggled, which caused Rina to spin in her direction and knock her over.

Kirsten was dumbfounded and seethed from the floor, "What's your problem?!"

"Nothing at all, now get up—we have a dance to finish." Kirsten growled and jumped up, prepared to do-si-do all over Rina's face, when the song slowed back down again before immediately speeding back up.

Nadine tripped over her own two feet and took Dustin down with her. Dustin, in an attempt to get up, grabbed at Ivan's legs, which only made the Russian boy topple over. Eleanor tripped over the heap of teens as she shuffled to the left, but had grabbed Rina's hand at the last second, which caused the taller girl to fall on top of her. Kirsten stopped in place, trying her hardest not to laugh, and signaled at the remaining dancers to stop. While Daewon and Drew ceased their movements, Dalton was still singing—or at least, trying to sing. The song came to an abrupt, screeching end, and only Dalton bowed like how they had planned. He turned around, for the first time realizing that half the team was piled on the ground.

Don's mouth hung open, absolutely stupefied. It was not until Chris broke out into a guffaw that Don slowly turned his head to the other man and said, "That was not the sabotage. Please tell me right now that was _not_ the sabotage."

"Fine, it wasn't the sabotage." Chris was quiet for a moment before saying, "it was a…premeditated hindrance to your team's effort by my team."

"I will _end_ you," Don said in an uncharacteristically chilling voice. Chris couldn't hide his gulp.

Chef drummed his fingers on the table, his eyes wide. "So uh…anyone gonna explain what that was, or am I supposed to believe that nonsense was country?"

Dalton took off his hat and pressed it to his chest. "I don't know what happened! The music didn't sound like that before, I swear on my Great Aunt Sarah-Beth's grave!"

"I thought your great aunt's name was Bertha-Mae?" Eleanor asked.

"No, that was my grandma. Besides, I got at least fourteen great aunts, El. There's probably even some I don't know about."

Chef took the time to receive a note from the intern from earlier. He read the note and rolled his eyes. "I see. Y'all were sabotaged."

Kirsten yelled, "What?!" just as Dustin said, "well that wasn't very nice!"

Dalton's face fell. "So, does that mean we get a do-over, or?"

"Nope. As a team, you're supposed to be able to work around these issues. Instead, you ended up in a literal mess on the floor. I'll be generous and give Team Don a 2 out of 10."

"How is a 2 'generous'?" asked Ivan as he tore himself out of the jumble of limbs.

Chef crossed his arms, irritated at the lack of gratitude. "I could give you a 1, if that's what you want."

"No! Two is fine!" yelped Eleanor after getting helped from the ground by Dustin.

Team Don was quickly ushered off the stage by the intern, both their bodies and egos bruised by failure.

**CONFESSIONAL: Kirsten**

"**First of all, I call bullshit on this sabotage thing. We shouldn't be held responsible for what another team did to us. No one would've been able to work with their music messed up like that. Team Chris better sleep with one eye open to night." She cracked her knuckles and stared menacingly into the camera. "I am **_**very**_** eager to kick some ass."**

"Come on out, Team Chris. We're ready for you to wow and amaze us!" Chris sing-songed. The teens took their cue and boarded the stage in a straight line while rolling their arms around each other in a circular motion. They chanted "ooh-ooh" until they were in their places, and stood silently until the music started.

"Boogie! Boogie! Boogie-boogie doooown. Boogie! Boogie! Boogie-boogie dooooown," they sung in unison.

"We've got a new dance for ya, listen very close," sung Aaron.

Ariana sang the next line with the fakest smile she could muster. "It's called the boogie-boogie, dance away your woes."

Jordan demonstrated the first steps. "First you right step, then left step and do a little turn. Snap both your fingers and get ready to learn, and do the—"

"Boogie! Boogie! Boogie-boogie doooown," they sung the chorus once again while doing a rather enthusiastic two-step.

Devon sang, "Grab yourself a partner, please don't be a chump! Stand next to each other and doooo the bump!" The partners proceeded to bump their hips together, though some bumped so hard that their partner would be propelled into someone else. Though Janice noticed this happening with Erica and Hayato, she covered it up by quickly moving on to the next instruction.

"Point your finger to the sky, and bring it back down! Once you've done that three times, spiiiiiin around!" The team followed this with no trouble, and joined once again to sing the chorus of the song. With one last two-step, the team walked in formation to the top of the stage and jumped, almost all of them landing on their feet save for Hayato, who had fallen into his split.

Chris gave his team a one-man standing ovation. "Bravo! Now that is what talent looks like. Must suck that my fellow judges can't relate." He wiped an invisible tear from his eye. "I am so proud."

"Sit _down_," grumbled Blaineley as she yanked the longtime host back into his chair.

Chef rubbed his chin in thought. "Huh, I didn't hate that as much as I thought I would. The 70s were a dark time for me so hearing music from then always gives me the heebie-jeebies." He shivered. "Nothing bad happened to me, I just really hated how tight all the clothes were."

"I can relate," said Jordan, pulling at his skin-tight button-up.

Chiara disagreed. "I don't mind so much. Italian fashion is quite…similar."

"That being said, there were a couple times where you all weren't synced up. Not enough enthusiasm in the world to make up for that. You did put on a good show, though. For that reason, I'm giving you an 8 out of 10."

"Robbery! Highway robbery!" Chris chanted as his team accepted 2nd place and exited the stage.

"Don't be a sore loser, McLean. Just be happy that my team didn't beat your team _too_ bad," gloated Blaineley. She waved for her team to come back out on the stage and said, "Congratulations, Team Blaineley! You went from causing me nothing but humiliation and woe to getting me a free massage."

"Free massage?" repeated Brianna.

"There may have been a bet between us judges that involved a free trip to the spa. Anyway, a Chipotle-catered feast should be waiting for you in your lounge." The contestants practically stampeded out of the theater at hearing the news. "The other teams will simply have to starve."

Don took a pointed sip of his iced coffee. "There's food in the kitchen, you know."

"But is it Chipotle? Thought not."

"Alright, enough of that. Team Chris! You failed me once again by coming in 2nd. I mean, _come on_! There was a massage at stake! But, once again, you've avoided facing elimination. Head back to the dorms."

Don tried to smile at his team but they were too busy glaring at each other to notice. "Sorry, Team Don. You tried your best given the circumstances, but your best just wasn't good enough. Unfortunately you'll have to head to the Green Room where you'll vote to eliminate one of your teammates."

"Who could it be? Dalton for his trash taste in music? Daewon for his diva antics? Drew for being quick to pick a fight? Find out when we come back to—"

Rina slapped a palm to her forehead. "Could you please stop trying to influence the votes, Chris?"

"Total! Drama! Takes the Stage! Also, the answer is _no_."

* * *

If it wasn't already clear that Team Don was divided, the way they had situated themselves in the Green Room was certainly confirmation. Dalton was on the tattered couch in the center of the room, joined by Dustin and Nadine. Eleanor was seated in the marijuana-scented loveseat adjacent to the couch, with Kirsten sitting on the arm of the chair. Ivan was slightly nodding off in a beanbag chair in front of the loveseat. Drew and Rina were on the stained futon towards the farthest end of the room, while Daewon was alone in a single chair closest to the exit. The factions were forming, and fast.

**CONFESSIONAL: Eleanor **

"**Dalton's a nice guy and his heart was in the right place. Our routine would've been fine if it wasn't for the sabotage. I'm not voting him off because of something out of his control." She tugged at a coiled strand of hair. "If I had to choose between Daewon and Drew…it would be Drew. He's talented, sure, but he's way too hotheaded. Plus, I don't like the way he looks at me or the other girls. Daewon has his faults but at least he keeps to himself, y'know?"**

**CONFESSIONAL: Dustin**

"**Daewon is kind of a vibe-harsher. He barely talks and when he does it's either condescending or doesn't make any sense. I want to have fun here on Total Drama and Daewon just seems like…anti-fun." The deep-voiced boy sighed. "I guess either way, we're losing one D of our 'D times 4 plus 1' crew. "**

**CONFESSIONAL: Ivan**

"**Drew is a liability. We need to win and I'm not sure we can do that if Drew's always getting in people's faces like he was today. As long as Daewon learns to do as he's told, this team can prosper and make it past the merge."**

**CONFESSIONAL: Daewon **

"**Dalton's going home. It may seem harsh, but his taking of the reigns is what started this whole thing in the first place. Sorry."**

Chris entered the silent room and pulled at his collar. "Geez, guys, could you all be any more awkward? I get it; it's been a long day of you guys purposefully provoking each other followed by a super humiliating defeat resulting in you all falling flat on your faces—but still! It wouldn't kill ya to smile, you know." Chris pulled out the stack of CDs. "Anyway, let's get this elimination ceremony started. First up, Eleanor," he tossed the CD towards the girl who caught it with precision. He continued to throw them at Kirsten, Dustin, Nadine, Ivan, Rina, and Dalton.

"I have only one CD left. The person who doesn't receive it will have to pack their bags, catch the taxi of has-beens outside, and leave Total Drama to _never_ return. _Ever_. The person who is safe tonight by a difference of just two votes is…" he tossed the CD towards the futon. "Drew."

Drew pumped his fist and pointed the other one at Daewon. "Well, it's been real, Pinky. Won't be sorry to see you go."

Daewon leaped from his chair and stood in front of everyone. "You all are no better than the sheep who conspired to kick me out of Seoul. I hope you all know you'll never amount to anything. Enjoy your 15 minutes of fame; I've got bigger and better things to do." He sauntered out of the Green Room with his head held high before any of the others could respond.

"Uh…okay. Moving past that," went Chris. "Head back to the dorms, ya bunch of losers."

* * *

**TEAM BLAINELEY – 7:31 PM **

"Not that I'm not enjoying this," said Luna as she picked at her burrito bowl. "But I do hope all of our rewards for winning competitions aren't food."

Gemini dumped two packets of guacamole onto her meal at the same time. "I have no qualms with this whatsoever."

Millie spoke up, "How come the judges get free massages but we just get Chipotle catering? My school's theater department does better than this for our cast parties."

Zane shrugged. "I'm guessing the prizes get better the farther we go along. When you think about it, these past two challenges have been pretty easy. Maybe once they get harder, the rewards will reflect that."

Jalen nearly choked on his rice. "Easy? You think these challenges have been _easy_? We _lost_ the first one, remember?"

"Yeah, for reasons we will not discuss any further. Look," he put down his fork and stood, gathering the attention of his team. "Today proved that we have the potential to do well in this competition. There's no reason we all can't make it to the merge." Zane smiled an honest, open smile, as if he truly meant what he said.

**CONFESSIONAL: Zane**

"**I lied. I don't see any of them making it past this week, let alone past the merge. But, I can't tell them that. Positive reinforcement, or whatever. These guys need guidance and if I have to lie to get them to just do as I say, so be it."**

"I say we put all the squabbling behind us. No more bringing up the past, no more asking who someone voted for, no more call-outs. Can we do that?"

Slowly, everyone nodded. Brianna walked over to Millie and sat down next to her, her otherwise pale face growing red.

"I'm s-so sorry for blowing up at you earlier. I-I don't know what came over me—"

"Water under the bridge," said Millie before Brianna could give herself a heart attack. "Plus, I suppose I needed to hear that. I won't be so hard on you guys anymore." The short haired girl smiled at Brianna to assure her of no hard feelings, though such feelings were very much still simmering under the surface.

**CONFESSIONAL: Millie**

"**Does Zane have a point in not wanting us to fight? Of course. But that doesn't mean I'm putting this behind me. The closer we get to the merge, the more likely I am to get backstabbed again. I am no Julius Caesar—though I did play Calpurnia in my school's production of the play. I am Millie Roberts-Chang. I'm keeping my guard up and my eye on **_**everyone**_**."**

* * *

**KITCHEN – 9:50 PM **

The kitchen was in a similar state to the one it had been in that morning. Pots were strewn across the stove, plates covered the counter, and the fridge was sufficiently raided. Not everyone had partaken in dinner, cooked by Dalton with help from Nadine and a jittery Devon, who had inserted himself between the two. Team Blaineley was obviously still reveling in their Chipotle feast, and about half of Team Chris was resting up for the next day. Most of Team Don had retreated to their bunks early to lick their wounds, or, in the case of Drew and Rina, to plot. Kirsten and Eleanor were chatting over their macaroni and cheese, mostly about the other contestants.

"I swear, if Team Chris thinks they're gonna get away with that stunt they pulled today, they've got another thing coming," grumbled Kirsten. "Everyone on that team seems fake to me. That Aaron guy is way too peppy; he's totally hiding something. And that Youtuber chick? Nothing about her is real."

Eleanor twiddled her thumbs, not liking the direction of the conversation. "Well, I don't know about that. Ari's actually really nice."

"_Ari_?" Kirsten repeated the nickname as if it made her physically ill. "Oh, no. She's already gotten to you, hasn't she?"

"No, it's nothing like that! She told me this morning that she's gonna teach me how to be more confident. My biggest fear is dragging the team down because I froze up on stage." She fiddled with the drawstring of her pale blue blouse, too ashamed to look Kirsten in the eye.

"You've been doing pretty well so far. If it wasn't for the fact that you barely talk, I wouldn't be able to tell you were shy at all."

The island girl shrugged. "My stage fright's been kept at bay because we've been doing group performances. I can't imagine being up there by myself, or even with one other person. If I can blend into the background…" she took a deep breath, not realizing that she hadn't been breathing the whole time. "I'll be fine."

Kirsten shook her head. She didn't understand the desire to blend in when one clearly had enough talent to stand out. She had always been the center of attention when dancing, and she loved it. "Well, you don't need that Kardashian-wannabe to learn confidence. Especially when she's not even on our team. I can show you."

"Kirsten…no offense but…" Eleanor carefully considered her words. She did not want to be the recipient of Kirsten's hair-trigger temper. "Your version of confidence isn't exactly what I'm looking for."

"And, what's that supposed to mean? What's wrong with my version of confidence?"

"It's just...more on the aggressive side? You do come off as really intimidating. I couldn't do that even if I tried. I mean, look at me!" She motioned to herself, her large, brown doe eyes and wide-set button nose being the picture of innocence.

Kirsten blinked. "Okay, yeah, you have a point." She took another bite of her meal. "But, if and when that wench's true colors come out, just let me know."

**CONFESSIONAL: Kirsten**

"**Eleanor's not usually the type of person I'd associate myself with. Shy people irritate the shit out of me. But, I don't know; she's the only one so far that I can tolerate and, as much as I'd hate to say it, I feel kinda protective over her. She's like a baby bird, a really, really dumb baby bird."**

Aaron was situated between Jordan and Erica, who were having a fierce debate over the World Cup. Though Aaron would've usually chimed in, he simply didn't have it in him to participate. Jordan noticed his new friend's quietness and cut off Erica's "last year's Cup was rigged and everyone knows it!" to ask Aaron what was wrong.

"It's stupid, and kinda childish."

Erica replied, "So? Everyone here is stupid and childish, dude."

Aaron huffed, but relented. "I'm worried about the next challenge. We've come in 2nd place twice in a row now and I'm starting to think that's where we're gonna stay."

"Well…that's not the worst thing, innit?" pondered Jordan. "I'm not the biggest fan of 2nd place either, but it's not like it's stopping us from progressing in the competition." He pushed away his plate a little so he could lean forward. "Can you imagine if we all made it past the merge without losing or winning a single challenge? How insane would that be?"

"But, I don't want to get by on sheer mediocrity. I want everyone to know we deserve to be here."

"Who says we're mediocre? We're just…" Erica trailed off, silently pleading with her eyes for Jordan to finish the sentence with something vaguely encouraging. Jordan scratched the back of his head in thought before blurting out the first thing that came to his mind.

"We're… just going at our own unique pace, is all. My old coach told me something like that while I was recovering from my injury," he said, referring to his knee.

"How'd that happen, by the way?" asked Aaron.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Jordan said in a rush. He quickly changed the subject. "I can't wait to really dig into the challenges. I hope we get more opportunities to do some songwriting."

Erica agreed. "I want a dance challenge that doesn't require costumes. Dancing in platform shoes was damn near impossible." Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Janice appearing in the archway of the kitchen. The Singaporean girl waved her hand violently at Erica to come over. "Uh…anyway, I gotta bounce, I think. Later." She left with a nod of the head and bounded for Janice, who quietly yanked her back to the dorms.

Aaron raised an eyebrow. "What's going on there?"

"Probably nothing. Maybe the girls ran out of toilet paper or something."

"I don't know," Aaron said, staring down at his empty plate. "I didn't want to say this, but I'm also worried about people forming alliances."

"You really think people would be doing that so soon? It is only our second night here."

"Yeah, I know, but…I've seen people whispering to each other and sneaking off to talk about who knows what. Ariana's been talking to one of the girls on Team Don, and Devon's really close to his sister so there's no doubt they're brewing something. And now Janice is dragging Erica somewhere. I really want this team to stick together but that's starting to look unrealistic."

"People are allowed to have friends, Aaron. I mean, I only really talk to you and Erica. I got on well enough with Luna and Dalton this morning, but that doesn't mean I'm in cahoots with them. It's a tad early in the game to be paranoid."

Aaron bit at his fingernails for a moment before shaking his head. "You're right, I am being paranoid. We'll just have to wait and see." He changed the topic to something else, trying his hardest to ignore the nagging thought in the back of his head that maybe Jordan was wrong.

* * *

Chris appeared in the camera, seated at a control panel where he was watching the events unfold live. He snickered to himself. "Oh, we'll have to see alright. With all these alliances forming, things are gonna get _super_ backstabby in here _very_ soon." He threw his hands in the air, a wide smile on his face. "I can't wait! Plus, if our schedule for tomorrow is correct," he took a folded piece of paper out of his shirt pocket and waved it at the camera. "There's gonna be more than enough _drama_ to last a whole season! Catch ya later on the next episode of Total Drama Takes the Stage!"

* * *

**I hope you all enjoyed this episode! I also have an announcement to make: thanks to Skyn1nja123 who suggested a really cool challenge, I'm opening up the floor for challenge suggestions! I already have most of them in mind, but I'm open to changing them if I receive any interesting ideas! They can be either mini challenges or main challenges. The only stipulation with mini challenges is that they need to somehow link to the main challenge. I can't wait to see your ideas **

**Questions for this chapter: Who do you think should've been eliminated this episode? Was Team Chris wrong for sabotaging? Who do you want to see become friends? What kinda rewards do you think the winning teams deserve? **

**The next chapter has already entered first draft stage. I'm not gonna give a date because last time I did I accidentally made it sound like I was updating last Friday when I meant to say THIS Friday. School has truly been frying my brain y'all lol. But expect the next chapter within the next 3 maaaybe 4 weeks! I don't want to go longer than a month without updating. Have a great day!**


	9. High School Musical (PART 1)

The three coaches appeared sitting in the front row of the Centerstage Theater seats, reviewing a stack of musical playbills before taking their cue to begin the cold open.

Chris threw his stack of bills into the air and greeted, "Welcome back to another episode of Total Drama Takes the Stage! Last time, our contestants put their instruction-following skills to the test with a very painful game of Chef Says…"

"Fell into step during our line dance challenge…" continued Blaineley.

"And," finishing Don. "Fell _out_ with each other in more ways than one."

"Thanks to a sabotage from Team Chris," said Chris with a grin. "Team Don was the team sent to the Green Room, and we had to say goodbye to the wannabe K-Pop idol, Daewon."

Blaineley started using the playbills in her hand to fan herself. "Today, we're taking the contestants back to school. Will they let their differences get in the way of putting on a good show?"

"It'd be a boring episode if they didn't," responded Don.

Chris leapt out of his seat and pointed at the camera. "Find out on this episode of Total! Drama! Takes the Stage!"

* * *

**TEAM DON – GIRLS BATHROOM – 8:45 AM **

Rina, fresh from a shower, was drying her long, pastel blue locks with a towel while humming Mozart's 5th to herself. Wrapped up in a plush bathrobe, she pulled her still damp hair up into her signature three-part ponytail, and gathered her toiletries to return to the dorm room. When she was not even two steps out of the communal bathroom, she jumped in the air, startled by a voice much too close to her.

"We still on for the plan today?" asked Drew, flicking a lighter on and off with an almost nervous energy. Rina grunted and whipped her ponytail at Drew's face, swatting him with the damp hair. He sputtered and wiped his face with his non-occupied hand. "The hell was that for?!"

"Never sneak up on a woman, Hanson," instructed a satisfied Rina. "Especially when they're not fully dressed."

"My apologies, doll," Drew replied, eyes drifting unabashedly over Rina's frame. The French girl rolled her eyes and continued on her trek to the dorm room. Drew followed her, refocused on the topic at hand. "But you didn't answer my question."

Rina stopped short of the room door. She leaned forward just a bit to see if anyone was still in the room; she knew Kirsten had gone off to the kitchen and that Nadine had jumped in the shower some time after Rina. In the room, she heard what sounded like singing. It was a light, pretty, almost fairy-like sound. It was a familiar voice, but Rina had never heard it so isolated. She chanced a closer look and saw Eleanor, alone in the room, quietly singing "Dreams" by Solange as she brushed her hair. Rina snapped back silently and pushed Drew further down the hall away from any potential eavesdroppers.

"Oh, we're still on alright. But I believe a slight change of plan is in order." When Drew made a perplexed expression, she clarified, "Eleanor's the one we want. Nadine's good but probably only listens to her annoying brother. But Eleanor? Absolutely ripe for the pickings."

Drew tossed his lighter in the air and caught it. "You're probably right about Nadine, but Kirsten's been latched onto Eleanor like a leech. There's no way she'll let us anywhere near her."

"Wait! That's brilliant, Drew."

Drew squinted his eyes. "Well, I know I'm a genius and all, but what did I say exactly?"

"If we go through with this, Kirsten will hate Eleanor, and we can have her all to ourselves," explained Rina. "We can officially isolate that blonde bimbo and bring Eleanor into our alliance in one foul swoop."

"Like killing two birds with one stone, huh? Alright, I'm game. But how are we gonna guarantee Kirsten comes out of this hating Eleanor?"

Rina looked at Drew as if he was the dumbest boy on Earth, which, most of his exes would say he was. "That's where _you_ come in, you dunce."

"Oh," Drew said, RIna's implication still not setting in. It wasn't until he rolled over the idea in his mind a bit more that he understood. "_Oh_. You are _evil_, Rina Belle. I like that."

She shrugged. "Not evil, just smart. Now leave me alone so I can get ready."

"Of course." He tipped his head at her and left, leaving Rina to observe Eleanor one last time before making her presence known. Before entering the dorm, she looked at the cameraman still recording her every action and glared at him until he cut away.

* * *

Breakfast had wrapped up with little fanfare. Everyone was sufficiently fed and waiting in the theater for the introduction of the next mini challenge. The contestants were starting to get the hang of the way the competition was run and were ready for whatever the coaches had in store for them today.

Circular, wooden tables resembling the average cafeteria table had been placed on the stage, each one with a folded card sitting in its center. The writing on each card was too small for the teens to make out from the seats, but some of them with better eyesight could tell that surrounding those cards were laminated slips of paper.

A spotlight shined on the middle of the stage, and out walked Chef with the three coaches in toe.

Chris rubbed his hands together. "Ah, high school, the worst four years of anyone's life. For those of you still in high school, I truly feel sorry for you."

Blaineley, hands on her hips, stated with her nose high in the air, "I don't know, high school went pretty well for me."

"And me," chimed in Don.

"_Anyway_…" Chris snarled. "What's the worst part about high school, you may be wondering? Aside from the mind-numbing tests, the inedible school lunches, and the general air of unwillingness to live? It's—"

"Damn McLean," went Blaineley, eyes wide. "What the hell was going on at _your_ school?"

"Enough interrupting! You've filled your quota for the day. As I was _saying_, the worst part by far are the cliques. The populars, the delinquents, the artsy kids, need I go on? All of them terrible and annoying in their own special little ways. Each of you fits into a clique, even if you think you don't." He gestured to Chef. "That brings us to our mini challenge for the day. It was definitely the one that Chef had the most fun planning, right?"

Chef nodded. "Uh-huh. If you kids didn't know about yourselves before, you sure will once this mini challenge is over."

"That's right. For today's mini challenge, you'll be sorting yourselves into cliques, which are represented by the tables behind us. The clique you claim must be accurate to your high school reputation; you can't just choose the clique you think you should be in."

"Yeah, plus we kinda know everything about you down to the most intimate details thanks to your applications," said Don blithely. "So, we'll know if you're lying."

Blaineley nodded. "Once you sort yourself into the correct clique, there should be a nametag for you that has your specific label on it. For example, I was, of course, the most popular girl in my school. So, I would sort myself into the Populars and then pick up the nametag that says, 'Queen Bee'. Understand?"

"You were so not the 'Queen Bee'," muttered Chris with a pout to his lips. Blaineley scoffed.

"As if you would know. Didn't you graduate from high school in the 80s, old man?"

"Oh, shut up, Miss Class of 2004. I may have graduated a couple decades before you but that doesn't mean I don't know what I'm talking about."

Just as Blaineley was about to say, "uh-huh, sure", Eleanor raised her hand to ask a question. When Blaineley pointed at her to speak, she asked, "But what if you fit into more than one clique? Or what if someone else has the exact same reputation as you?"

"Don't worry, we thought about that," Blaineley said. "The nametags are so specific there's no way people won't know that it's for them."

Don continued to give the instructions. "Once you're all sorted out, you'll have to work together to find your hall passes. The instructions will be found under the card on your clique's table. Yes, this means working together with people from different teams. But, once you find the hall passes, it's everyone for themselves."

Chef picked up with, "The hall passes are hidden all along this block and the locations will correspond to your clique. The team that has the most members back here in the theater at the end of the hour with their hall passes wins a sabotage."

"Anyone not understand the rules?" asked Chris.

Dustin was quick to go, "Actually, I—"

"Too bad!" shouted Chef. "Your hour begins now!"

Chris furrowed his eyebrows. "Hey, that was supposed to be my line!"

The contestants leapt up out of their chairs and bounded for the stage, nearly stampeding the bickering coaches. Seeing as how the table labeled "Populars" was at the top of the stage, Ariana was the first to reach her assigned clique.

She scanned the nametags and sure enough there was one labelled "The Social Media Star". She primly swiped it and pinned it to her Fashion Nova tube top.

Jordan swiftly made it to the Jock table, confident that despite his injury, his reputation as a would-be soccer star would proceed him. He reached to grab the nametag marked "The All-Star", but out of the corner of his eye noticed the one marked "The 'Should Have Gone Pro' Story". He frowned and redirected his aim to pick up the other tag, pinning it to his t-shirt mechanically. At that time, Aaron rushed up to the table and immediately grabbed the nametag Jordan had almost gone for, not even for a moment having to doubt his abilities. As much as Jordan didn't want to admit it, he was a little jealous of Aaron.

**CONFESSIONAL: Jordan**

"**Aaron's my friend, alright? I have nothing but respect for him. But, he's lucky. From what he's told me, he pretty much gets handed any position on a team that he wants. He's been recruited by fourteen different schools and is 100% going pro once he graduates from college. Meanwhile, my dreams of playing for Manchester are just…" He drew in a deep breath, counted to three, and blew it out. "Not over but…put on hold. For now. Hopefully." He rubbed his arm and looked off to the side, as if not wanting to directly confront what he had to say. "My point is, he has options a-plenty. Right now I have an option and a half. Why waste your summer here when you could be training?"**

Luna had always considered herself a loner. She didn't have many friends and she mostly stayed to herself. Music was her best friend and probably always would be. But, she wasn't sure if her reclusiveness made her a "Nobody", which was the table to stage left, or if her obsession with music made her one of the "Artsy Kids", which was the table on stage right. She dashed for the Nobodies table and searched for her nametag but saw nothing that pertained to her. She did, however, see a label that she believed fit one of her teammates.

"Jalen, over here!" she called over to the fedora-wearing boy who was rifling through the Artsy Kid nametags with no luck. Luna held up the tag and Jalen smiled, bounding over until he realized what table he had been sorted to.

"Seriously? I'm not a nobody! What does this thing even say, anyway?" Luna politely held out the tag and he grasped it, reading over the words and instantly groaning. Luna held back a laugh as Jalen pinned the nametag marked, "The Incel" onto his suit jacket. She gave him a reassuring pat on the arm and made her way for the Artsy Kids table, where she eventually found a nametag labeled "The Quiet Rocker".

Dustin soon joined Jalen at the Nobodies table, a sense of pride in his motions as he pinned his "The Nerd" nametag to his shirt. "Keep your head up, Jalen," he said. "Sometimes the 'nobodies' are the coolest people around!"

"Doubtful," huffed Zane as he approached the table, correctly determining that the tag marked, "The 'Who is That?' Guy".

**CONFESSIONAL: Zane**

"**I don't mind being the one that everyone forgets is there. I've made it through most of high school on that completely unscathed. Besides, when people don't know you, they expect nothing from you. And, when people think you're not even there, they let their guards down." Zane ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair. "Do you know how much I've heard the past few days alone? Believe me, it's an advantage."**

Millie and Gemini were happy to join Luna at the Artsy table as "The Theater Kid" and "The Songwriter" respectively, glad that the majority of their table would be from Team Blaineley.

The Delinquents table was surprisingly empty, with no one wanting to admit that they had a potentially unsavory past. Drew eventually checked his watch, rolling his eyes as he noticed time running out, and swaggered to the table. He raked his eyes over the pieces of paper, each of the four saying "The Juvenile Escapee", "The School Fighter", "The School Slut", and "The Asshole". Drew, with an exaggerated wink towards the camera, grabbed the last nametag and said, "Hey, when you're right, you're right." He looked around the rest of the theater, wondering who among them (aside from himself) had served time in juvie. If he was being honest, none of the kids there looked like they had the guts to commit a real crime, let alone be smart enough to know how to escape.

Since Drew had broken the ice by being the first to admit his delinquency, Erica dragged herself over, not wanting to look like a punk in comparison to the lounge singer. She swiped the tag that deemed her the school fighter and leaned against the table with feigned disinterest. Drew raised a curious brow but said nothing.

Genevieve weighed her own options. The tables were filling up quickly and she had little time before the groups would start running off to their next location. The Artsy Kids table already had three members while the table for Teacher's Pets had only Devon and Nadine, sporting nametags labeled "The Bible Thumper" and "The Choir Girl" respectively. Being a big fan of self-reflection, she knew deep down that her love for learning likely outweighed her reputation as an opera singer. She approached the table and picked the nametag that said, "The A+ Student". The last nametag on the table said, "The Friend to All", and could only think of one person in the entire competition that could be considered such.

Leon had been hopping from table to table in order, not wanting to rule any option out. He knew what his reputation back in Spain had been before, for lack of a better word, The Incident. But, he had no real clue where he stood now. He eventually caught eye of Genevieve beckoning him over and ran over, allowing her to pin the nametag on his shirt without even looking at it. He tried to bend his head to read it, and though it looked a bit different upside down, he smiled nonetheless.

"Wait, does this mean we're the first group to have all our members?" Nadine asked.

Genevieve looked around at all the half-full tables and smiled. "It would appear so." She pointed to the folded card. "What do the instructions say?"

Devon grabbed it before his sister could and cleared his throat with much bravado. "They say…wait, hold one gosh darn minute…" He readjusted his glasses and squinted at the words printed on the card. "This is a riddle!" The other swarmed around him and read the riddle over his shoulder along with him.

_Hey Goodie-Goodies, and brown-nosers alike_

_We know you've followed the rules since you were a wee tike_

_But now it's time for a change, live on the wild side_

_Head outside and catch a taxi, it'll be a wild ride!_

"Nuh-uh," said Devon, throwing the card on the table. "I'm not taking a ride with some stranger to some unspecified location. And what on Earth does he mean by 'live on the wild side'?! This is exactly why I didn't want you on this show, Nadine. This man is gonna have us engaging in…" he shuddered. "_Debauchery_."

Nadine internally groaned and gave a pleading look to Leon, knowing that anything she said would go unheard by her brother. Leon took the card and clapped Devon so hard on the back he almost fell over.

"Don't worry about it, my friend! I'm sure Chef wouldn't put us in any real danger." Genevieve bit her lip in doubt but said nothing. "Now, we should be speedy, we don't want any of the other groups catching up with us." Before anyone could say anything, Leon shouted, "Andale!" and sped off towards the exit. The remaining three Teacher's Pets exchanged looks but quickly followed.

Their swift exit didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the contestants. The stage had entered a state of chaos as teens rushed from table to table. Ivan had only just made it to the Artsy Kids table when Millie forcibly pinned his "The Prodigy" nametag to his shirt. "Okay, we're ready! Gemini, could you read the instructions?"

The guitarist acquiesced and read aloud, "_You artsy-fartsies are known for creativity, but not always known for positivity. Since you types love to brood so much, find a place to cry that'll come in clutch_." She scratched her head and looked at the others. "At the risk of sounding dumb, what did any of that mean?"

"I think it's just playing into the stereotype that musicians are over-emotional," piped up Ivan. "Which I think is false; not all of us bawl our eyes out while composing a song."

"Yeah, I've totally never done that before," muttered Gemini with a nervous chuckle.

"But what does he mean by a place to cry?" inquired Luna. "You can cry anywhere, can't you?"

Gemini shrugged. "I mean, personally I'm more comfortable crying in a private place than a public one? Ooh, and it's even better when there's warm blankets and music playing." She scrunched up her thick eyebrows. "So, basically, my bedroom back home."

"Well, we can't exactly go _there_," said Millie, a silent "duh" hanging off the end of her sentence. "But what about one of the dorm rooms?"

Luna shook her head. "Ivan can't go in our room, let alone our hall, remember? So, we might as well rule out the room idea."

Ivan twiddled his thumbs a bit, positive his suggestion would get him some concerned stares. "What about a cemetery? People cry at cemeteries all the time."

The girls did exactly what he expected and stared at him for a beat or two. The spell was broken when Luna said, "As morbid as that is, it makes sense. Where's the nearest cemetery?"

Gemini, being the only Toronto native in the group, answered, "There should be one about a five-minute walk from here. Let's go!" The clique rushed off the stage and out of the theater, leaving four teams left with very little time.

Rina had already joined Ariana at the Populars table, dubbing herself "The Queen Bee". Zavier and Janice followed, though not after some debate between the two over if Zavier was cool enough to even be there. Zavier had insisted that his Soundcloud career had skyrocketed him up the social food chain in high school, but hadn't exactly done much for him in college.

Rina stopped their bickering with a snap, frustrated with the amount of time it was taking for them to leave. "The 'Voted Most Likely to Be Famous' label clearly belongs to Zavier, Janice. This is about _high school_ cliques, after all. Just let him take the dumb nametag so we can get out of here."

Janice rolled her eyes and straightened her "The Pretty Girl" label. "We were just playing, Rina." She handed Zavier the nametag with a small smirk. "Though I still doubt anyone ever thought _you_ were cool."

"You're hilarious," replied Zavier dryly. "Keep that same energy for when I drop my next single and it's all about how you doubted me."

Janice was ready to reply something sarcastic when Rina snapped her fingers again. "I'm sorry, is us trying to compete in this mini-challenge getting in the way of you flirting? Sincerest apologies." Ariana giggled behind her hand just as Janice scoffed and snatched the card off the table.

The Singaporean dancer read the riddle quickly. "_The popular kids are used to getting their way, they can get others to do whatever they say. Someone downtown can tell you where to go next, if you get them to take a pic of you and send it as a text_."

Zavier snorted. "Chef was really reaching for rhymes with this riddle, huh?"

"So, we just have to go outside and get someone to take a picture of us? Easy," said Ariana. She reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a tube of lip gloss. After applying it, she sashayed towards the door, saying "My fans would kill for a picture with me." The rest went along with her, strutting out in typical _Mean Girls_ formation.

Just as they left, the Jock table had accepted all of its members. Eleanor, who was deemed "The Surprise MVP" and Dalton, labeled "The Strong Guy" were helping Aaron and Jordan work out the riddle set out for them.

_You big guys on campus always play to win_

_So why don't you give this next challenge a spin_

_Go where you active types usually stay_

_And find out what will be your next play_

"Where do jocks usually stay?" asked Dalton. He wasn't exactly well-versed when it came to the concept of cliques. He had gone to school with the same exact people since kindergarten and each school he had been in had been a one-story building with very few extracurriculars outside of sports. Everyone worked on a farm or in a general store except for the few rich kids who were heirs to their daddy's moonshine fortune. Even then everyone was fairly nice to each other, unless you had something to say about somebody's grandma.

"Uh, a locker room? A field? A court?" Aaron shot off with the first few things he could think of. "Are there any of those near here?"

Jordan shook his head. "Chris said they'd be within the block so I doubt that. Unless…" he thought back to the first day of the competition. "The gym! The gym where we played dodgeball. That wasn't very far from here, right?"

Eleanor bounced on the balls of her feet. "Nope, it was just around the corner!"

"If we hurry we might be able to pull ahead the others," advised Aaron. He noted the two other tables still not at full capacity and gestured towards the door. "Or at least pull ahead of the guys still stuck here." They followed Aaron's lead and fled the theater, leaving the Delinquents and the Nobodies to themselves.

Drew was fed up. "This is ridiculous," he said to Erica who was knocking her knuckles against the wooden table. "Whoever the last two chumps holding us up are would rather put their pride over a win. Imagine coming on this show and not thinking your personal business wouldn't be made public sooner or later." His hand itched for a cigarette, but he calmed the growing need. His eyes travelled to the remaining contestants who were still in the audience. Chiara was sat, legs crossed and head resting in his hand as if bored. Kirsten was standing, hands on hips, defiant in her decision not to move a muscle. Hayato had finally made the decision to leap on the stage and join the Nobodies as "The Friendless Tsundere", but Brianna was sitting quietly, biting her fingernails and not looking at anyone.

Drew leaned in close to whisper in Erica's heavily-pierced ear. "One of these people is possibly a convicted felon. I got bets on the quiet one."

Erica shrugged. "I wouldn't put it past any of you weirdos. Not even the clown." Drew laughed but set his eyes once more on the audience members.

"I'm going out there. I'm not gonna sit here and give that sabotage away. Wish me luck." Drew rushed away, but not before hearing Erica deadpanning, "wish yourself luck". Drew figured it made the most sense to go for Kirsten. There was no doubt in his mind that she was a part of their clique.

He sidled up next to her, smoothly wrapping his arm around her shoulder. She instantly shrugged him off, but this did not hinder Drew's efforts.

"So, what's the hold up with you? Don't know where you belong? I can see that. You're too pretty to be a Delinquent but also too pretty to be a Nobody. If you come join us at least you know you'll have fun."

Kirsten huffed. "I'm not playing this stupid game."

"Why not?"

"I'm my own person. I refuse to be labeled."

"Yeah, cool, fight the power, or whatever." Drew said in a rush. "But, for our team to have a chance at winning that sabotage to get back at Team Chris, we kinda all need to play."

Kirsten flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder. "Well, too bad. You guys may be fine conforming to what some old jackasses believe a bunch of dumb high schoolers think of us, but I'm not."

Drew pinched the bridge of his nose, fighting off an oncoming headache. This would be harder than he thought. "Imagine this," he said, suddenly earnest. "You, on that stage, everyone cheering for you after you've won this thing. Once this competition is over, you won't be known by whatever label is on that table. You'll be known as the dancing superstar you were born to be." Kirsten met his eyes, surprised that this was coming from him. "But that can't happen if you can't even make it past this episode. Now, what sounds better? You going home tonight, back to everyone stereotyping you? Or, you sticking around and proving everyone wrong?"

For a split second, it seemed as if Kirsten was, for once, absolutely speechless. She opened her mouth but immediately closed it. She shook her head, managing to clear whatever fog Drew's words had put her in. "Fine. Only because I like proving people wrong. This has nothing to do with you."

"I don't recall saying it did, babe," Drew replied, escorting Kirsten to the table. It did not go unnoticed by either party that Kirsten didn't so much as flinch at being called a petname for once.

Meanwhile, over at the Nobodies table, Zane was eyeing between Chiara and Brianna with unflinching intensity. He knew the last member was Brianna. She had to be—Chiara was far too flashy to be a Nobody. Though both contestants were quiet enough to be considered "The Shrieking Violet", which was what the final nametag on their table said, Zane believed Chiara was only so quiet because English didn't come easy to him. Brianna, on the other hand, couldn't even handle being touched on the shoulder, as noted earlier that day during breakfast.

**CONFESSIONAL: Brianna**

"**This morning was miserable. I feel like I keep embarrassing myself." Brianna wrapped her pale arms around her small frame. "Zane was trying to ask me something—I-I don't know what; I think he wanted me to pass him a banana? But I didn't expect him to tap me on the shoulder. I literally jumped out of my chair…" she dropped her head into her hands, blonde hair falling over it. "I don't think anyone but him and Gemini noticed it, but still. I know I need to get over this; I just don't know how! I bet everyone back at home is laughing at me." She lifted her head and her eyes appeared glassy. "I promised myself I'd come out of my shell here…but I can't."**

Zane, knowing that he should be cautious due to the breakfast incident, surveyed the other members of the Nobodies clique. He needed someone to go over and recruit the Japanese-American girl, but his options weren't exactly ideal. Jalen would say something so offensive she'd run crying out of the building, never to return. Dustin would scream in her face probably. Hayato…

He caught Hayato's attention and nodded his head towards Brianna. "Can you promise me you won't threaten to disembowel Brianna to get her to come over here? We're running on limited time and we need to ditch this place before the Delinquents realize Chiara's one of them."

Hayato blinked and turned his head slowly to get a look at Brianna. He hadn't even attempted to talk to his old friend since the start of the competition. He assumed she simply didn't recognize him, and he didn't want to bring back old scars by reminding her of his existence.

However, him giving her space was clearly not going to be possible if he wanted his team to win.

He gulped, but nodded, and made his way inch-by-inch towards Brianna. She looked nearly the same way she did back when they both lived in Japan. Same blonde hair, same miniscule height, same nervous energy.

As he approached, Brianna watched him, practically shaking in her ballet flats. Once Hayato was finally close enough for her to hear him, he stopped, leaving about a yard between them. "H-hey—um," he stopped himself and cleared his throat. Brianna was truly the only person who could make him nervous. "Uh…hello, Brianna." He bowed formally, not wanting to accidentally offend the girl he assumed no longer knew him.

"You don't…you don't have to bow, Hayato." Brianna whispered. Hayato rose from his position, head snapping up like a rubber band. His brown eyes widened.

"You…remember me?" Brianna nodded, a pink tint to her cheeks. Just as Hayato was about to say something, Zane was yelling at them.

"No offense, Hayato, but I'm pretty sure I told you we were on limited time! Can we get a move on?" The Japanese teens looked at Zane and then at the Delinquents table, which at some point had acquired a rather surly-looking Chiara. Erica was forcibly pinning the "The Juvenile Escapee" nametag to his burgundy tweed suit jacket.

Brianna and Hayato met eyes, silently communicating to each other that they would have to catch up later. Hayato took the girl's hand, and the two sprinted back to the Nobodies table.

Zane was already holding Brianna's nametag and quickly shoved it into her hands. As she pinned it to her top, he motioned for Dustin to read the riddle.

"_Nobody notices the nobody, they say. They hide in the shadows and rarely stray. The shadows near here are open for you. Be ready to take a dive to find what you're due_." Dustin placed down the card. "I don't know about you guys, but this sounds creepy as heck."

"It sounds like those old Victorian-era nursery rhymes about like, dying of Mad Cow Disease, or something," added Jalen.

"Shadows…" Zane mused aloud. "Shadows are everywhere. But it needs to be a shadow you can take a dive in? That doesn't even make sense."

"M-maybe we should walk around and look for shadows?" Brianna suggested, voice small. Zane considered it in his head and shrugged.

"Sounds like the only thing we can do." He checked out the remaining clique again and noticed them fussing with each other over…something. "Let's go while the Delinquents are still figuring their riddle out." The clique headed out, though not as enthusiastically as the other groups that had left long before them. Erica groaned at their departure.

"Welp, there goes our chances…" said the city girl. "At least Team Chris _and_ Team Don will be missing two people."

"I did _not_ get dragged over here just for us to give up," piped up Kirsten. She snatched the riddle out of Drew's hand and read it herself, speaking slowly so everyone could grasp each individual word. "_Every delinquent has got a dark past, you're the kids people run away from fast. Angry at the world and hardened as a rock, go where you can simply just talk_." She looked up and dropped the card on the ground. "Yeah, it doesn't make any more sense than the last four times we read it."

Erica blew a raspberry as she cracked her knuckles. "Give it up to Chef for giving us yet another mini challenge that's probably ten times harder than whatever the main challenge is."

"This is bullshit. I bet ours is the hardest riddle too. Did you see how fast everyone else got their riddles?" Drew spat out, his Brooklyn accent growing thicker. "They're setting us up for failure."

The three continued to curse Chef and the game as a whole, not realizing that Chiara had picked up the riddle and was reading it carefully. He may not have been the best at speaking English anymore, but he could certainly read it with some proficiency. He turned the words in his head over and over, until it came to him. "Therapy."

The rest of the Delinquents hadn't heard him, so he raised his chin and spoke with more bass, "They want us to go to therapy."

Everyone faced him, varying looks of shock in their expressions. Erica was the first to respond.

"How'd you get that from the riddle?"

Chiara tilted his head. "Where else does one go to 'talk' about one's 'dark past'?"

Drew clapped his hands together. "Clown boy's got a point. We need to find a therapist's office near here, pronto." With that, the Delinquents made their way out into the Toronto streets, and the stage was finally empty.

* * *

**TEACHER'S PETS**

"So…how do we know which taxi is ours?" asked Nadine as several bright yellow cabs sped down the busy street. The group was the first out of the theater, but if they couldn't find the right taxi in time, their head-start advantage would be rendered meaningless.

"I can only assume the taxi will be marked in some way," supplied Genevieve. "This show tends to lack subtlety."

As if on cue (and, it probably was as an intern was watching them from behind a set of shrubs in front of the theater), a teal taxi van with an orange flame decal on the sides pulled up to the curb. On the top of the taxi, was a single, red emergency light, with two sets of sirens flanking it. The driver, the contestants could see as she rolled down the window, was none other than a now in her late-20s Izzy.

"Hi! You guys must be the Teacher's Pets, right? I'm Izzy, but you probably already knew that!" Yelled the fiery-haired wildchild. "I'm gonna take you to the next stage of this challenge. Get it? Stage?" She cackled to herself, ignoring the perturbed looks of the teens before her. "Because the show's called—anyway, hop in! I don't bite! Well, I do, but I'm contractually not allowed to bite anyone while I'm here." She pressed a button that made each of the doors fling open. Though the teens exchanged worried looks, Leon was the first to enter the vehicle.

"Ooh," said the Spanish youth. "It's cozy in here! Come in, friends." Genevieve took a peek inside and figured Leon was right—the seats were plush, there appeared to be more than enough leg room, and in the middle of the four seats was a built-in cooler.

She smiled and elected to take the seat next to Leon. Nadine was prepared to follow when Devon grabbed her by the shoulder.

"Do _not_ enter the sin-taxi, Nadine. You're better than this." He pulled her in closer and whispered, "That woman has been to _prison_!"

Nadine groaned. "It's a part of the challenge, though! What do you want us to do? Just stand here until it's over?"

"Ideally," answered Devon. "I'm sure there's a Christian-owned ice cream shop around here. Probably not as good as _Sprinkles of the Cross_ back home, but we can make do."

Nadine felt her eye twitching. "I did not come all the way here just to do the same things we did back in Atlanta. Don't you want to live a little?"

"I want to live in the light of the Lord, yes I do," replied Devon as he fixed his collar. Just when Nadine was about to admonish her brother, Izzy abruptly honked the horn.

"_Soooo_…you guys getting in or what? We kinda have a tight schedule and also another team is right behind you!" The siblings turned in the direction Izzy was pointing and sure enough, the Artsy Kids were out the door and running past them down the street.

"You two need to get in the cab. We can work out whatever issues you're having later, okay?" quickly offered Genevieve. Nadine looked between the cab and her brother. On one side, there was a vehicle filled with potential friends and a known madwoman, and on the other, there was her brother, the physical manifestation of everything she was trying to get away from.

She climbed in, sitting in the seat behind Leon. "You can stand there all day if you want to, but I'm playing to help my team."

Devon's mouth fell open, and he proceeded to go through the quickest face-journey to end all face-journeys. Within ten seconds, his expression changed from disbelief, to anger, then betrayal, and finally…

Acceptance.

"You ain't going nowhere without me, little girl. You've just proven you can't be trusted," he said as he shuffled inside. Before he was even seated, Izzy had pressed another button that closed the doors with violent force. The van shook slightly, sending Devon tumbling over the cooler.

Nadine failed to hold in a laugh, but Izzy's guffaws covered up any sound that may have come out of her mouth. "Sorry, little guy! But, we gotta get a move on! Oh, and feel free to grab an energy drink, it's on the house!" Her foot hit the gas pedal and the van went flying into the street. Devon scurried to take a seat next to Nadine, clutching his chest the whole time.

"This show is gonna kill me…" the bespectacled boy murmured.

Leon chuckled. "Don't be silly! This is Total Drama, what is the worst that could happen?"

Devon began to pray.

* * *

**ARTSY KIDS **

"Looks like we're making better time than the Teacher's Pets," remarked Luna. The group had already reached the other end of the block and was only across the street from the cemetery.

Gemini bit her lip. "I don't know, they looked like they were hopping into a cab to somewhere."

"Probably getting off of this show while they can," deadpanned Ivan as they crossed the street and found their way in front of the iron-wrought gates of the cemetery.

A flock of crows scattered about overhead the teens, loudly cawing to one another. Millie shivered even though it was a typical summer day. "I don't think this is the best idea, you guys. This place looks absolutely deserted."

"There's definitely some bad juju here," supported Gemini. "But, we have to suck it up if we want to find the hall pass." She gulped. "I have some spare sage in my bag back at the dorms. I can spiritually cleanse us if need be."

"I'd prefer you not do that," muttered Luna as Ivan kicked open the gates, leaving them to swing haphazardly with a piercing _creak_.

The four contestants entered the cemetery, though Millie significantly slower than the others. While the others began searching behind tombstones and in the weeds, Millie stayed near the entrance, hoping that the light breeze would blow the hall pass out of nowhere and into her hands.

**CONFESSIONAL: Millie**

"**I wouldn't call myself very superstitious…" said Millie as she twiddled her thumbs. "But there are just some things you don't do, y'know? You don't say 'Hamlet' on opening night of a show, you never tell someone 'good luck' before they go on stage, and you absolutely do not, under any circumstances, enter a creepy cemetery just for the heck of it!" She squeezed her eyes shut. "I don't believe in all that spiritual cleansing mumbo-jumbo but if Gemini thinks she can stop us from getting cursed by some Canadian ghost, I'm all for it."**

Ivan was staring hard at a headstone, hands deep in his pockets and face hardened in thought when Luna approached him. He was summoned out of his trance by the sound of the English girl's voice. "Sorry, I didn't catch that. What did you say?"

Luna shook her head but repeated, "Have you noticed that Millie isn't doing any of the work?" At this, Ivan twisted his head to see the aforementioned girl absently performing a box-step near the iron gates. Ivan's eye twitched.

"Team Blaineley should've voted her off when you had the chance," Ivan grumbled, returning to his search for the elusive hall pass.

Luna snorted as she followed him. "Believe me, we know." They searched down the rows of the buried dead in silence, stopping only when they heard Millie scream about dancing into a cobweb. The two, shorter contestants chuckled at her misery.

Luna cleared her throat. "You were staring pretty hard at that tombstone earlier. Why?"

Ivan blanched and turned his face away from Luna so she wouldn't notice. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"When I was telling you about Millie. You were just standing there, looking at the tombstone. For a moment, I thought you had found the pass." She rubbed her arm awkwardly. Ivan had suddenly turned cold—well, colder than usual—and Luna had a feeling it was her fault. "I didn't mean to pry."

Ivan was quiet for a few seconds before sighing. "You weren't. The name on the tombstone just…reminded me of someone." He yawned, though to Luna it didn't sound as legitimate as his usual yawns. "Anyway, I think I was wrong about this place. Clearly the hall pass isn't here."

"It's a fairly large cemetery; we haven't even looked past that statue over there," argued Luna, pointing at the small mausoleum-like structure ahead of them. Before Luna could direct the boy over there, Gemini jumped from behind it, scaring the two smaller contestants.

"Sorry, dudes! I didn't see you there," she said, fixing her beanie. "I thought I saw the hall pass, but it was just a sympathy card. It looks like it's from the 20s though, isn't that cool?" She showed them the card that was extremely faded in color, but had a font and design very reminiscent of the 1920s. She tried to open it, but it was sealed shut by either mud, age, or a combination of both.

Ivan took the card and examined it further. "Definitely not from the 20s. Look, there's a copyright on the back of it." The copyright was dated to the current year. "This is a brand-new card made to look a century old. Now who would do that on purpose?"

"_Chef_," both Luna and Gemini answered at the same time. Gemini took the card back and tried to pry it open, but to no avail.

"We need scissors, or something sharp. Does anyone happen to have a swiss-army knife on them?"

"No, I left mine at the dorm," Ivan said sarcastically. This was missed by Gemini who internally wondered if they would have enough time to run back to the dorm to get it.

Luna groaned. "So, we have the hall pass, but we can't open the card to get to it. Why would they make things so hard for us?"

At that moment, Millie shouted from her position at the entrance, "What's going on?! Did you find something?!"

Luna rolled her eyes and shouted back, "Why don't you come over here and find out?"

Millie didn't say anything for a few seconds, but eventually chirped, "No, I'm good over here!"

Gemini groaned in exasperation. "Millie, we found the hall pass but we can't open it. Got anything sharp with you?"

"Certainly not her wit," Ivan whispered to Luna, who bit down a laugh.

A mega-watt smile broke out on Millie's face that the other three artsy kids could see from their spot across the cemetery. She started waving them over as she pulled something out of the pocket of her purple corduroy dress. The others trudged over, hoping that whatever Millie had up her sleeve wasn't a complete waste of time.

Once there, they saw that Millie was holding a small box of safety pins. "In theater, safety pins are a _godsend_. Anything could happen during a show: costume malfunction, certain set-pieces falling apart, wig not staying on? Nothing a couple dozen safety pins can't fix." She explained as she took a pin out of the box and unclipped it so the sharp point was sticking out. She took the card from Gemini and sliced it open with ease.

Gemini fist-pumped and Luna breathed a sigh of relief. Ivan offered an apologetic nod to Millie. "We might have misjudged you, Millie. Thanks for the save."

Millie preened at the acknowledgement of her utility. "Not a problem. I hope you two," she directed this at Luna and Gemini, "remember this the next time we're stuck in the Green Room."

"_Moving on_…" said Luna pointedly. "Is the hall pass in there?"

Millie took a plastic ID holder out of the card that contained four slips of orange paper with the word, "HALL PASS" printed in white, bold font. She quickly distributed the strips and tossed the dusty sympathy card behind her back. Checking her silver watch, she said, "Only thirty minutes left. We're probably gonna be the first group back. Team Blaineley has got this in the bag." She started to do her fully-choreographed happy dance until she remembered that not everyone in the Artsy Kids was from her team. "Sorry, Ivan. I'm sure your team will catch up eventually."

Ivan shrugged, though he was internally nervous about Team Don's ability to catch up, considering that most of them still seemed to be figuring out which clique they were apart of when he last saw them.

The Artsy Kids made their way back to the Centerstage, knowing that from there on out, they would just have to play the waiting game.

* * *

**THE POPULARS**

Janice, Ariana, Rina, and Zavier had made it to the opposite end of the block, frustrated and mentally exhausted.

"We've taken pictures with at least thirty people and not a single one of them knows where the hall pass is!" cried Janice. She leaned up against a streetlamp and stared her brown eyes into the sky. "This is _torture_."

"Welcome to my world, hon," went Ariana, as she was the least perturbed by the meet-and-greet photo process. "You try taking 500 pictures in two hours while at a Youtubers convention. It is _not_ fun. Especially when it comes to taking pics with some of my, er, _less hygienic_ fans." She shuddered at the memory.

**CONFESSIONAL: Ariana**

"**Look, I love all my gumdrops!" Ariana explained. "But some of them need a lesson or two on basic hygiene. Just because the Beauty Guru Con is in the winter does **_**not**_** mean you can show up without deodorant. Deodorant is a year-round thing, people!"**

"I'm not complaining," said Zavier. "I was able to promote my mixtape to the lovely people of Toronto. And, this'll just prepare me for when I'm famous and doing meet-and-greets at my concerts."

Janice nudged him playfully. "You keep telling yourself that, hon."

Rina groaned and crossed her pale arms over her chest. "There's no way Chef would send us out here just for there to not be someone with a clue. He's cruel but even _he_ wouldn't waste our time like that." She surveyed their surroundings, zeroing in on each individual face walking down the bustling downtown streets. "One of these people knows where we can find the hall pass. But _who_?"

Just then, a hooded individual violently bumped into Ariana, knocking her phone out of her hand and onto the ground. Before she could scream about her screen getting any potential cracks, the individual grabbed the phone and ran down the street with it.

"What the hell?! Come back with my phone, you freak!" Ariana yelled, preparing to run after the perp before Zavier stopped her.

"Let me handle it, I did track for a whole two weeks in high school." He promptly ran a few yards before running into a fire hydrant and flopping face first into the concrete.

"Yeah, that two weeks really did you some good, huh?" Janice commented as she helped the tall boy up. Zavier rubbed the scrape on his cheek and looked down in shame, his face not nearly as bruised as his ego.

Ariana threw her hands into the air before grabbing her wavy hair and pulling it in anger. "I cannot believe this. That phone had my whole freakin' life on it, for crying out loud! All the pictures from my trip to Bora Bora, like, three different videos I was planning on dropping this week…" she wiped a tear from her honey brown eye. "Oh, and pictures of my family, I guess."

"Why were you even allowed a phone?" asked Rina. "They took all of ours the first day."

"Does it matter? My phone is gone, we still haven't found the hall pass, and I'm two seconds away from throwing myself into oncoming traffic!" Screeched Ariana as she sat crouched on the ground, digging the heels of her hands into her eyes.

"Did someone mention a phone?" called a somewhat familiar voice behind the contestants. They all turned around, except for Ariana who was still contemplating death on the ground.

"_Sierra_?" went Janice, Zavier, and Rina in unison.

The pink-haired young woman stood before them with the phone thief hanging by the hood in one hand, and Ariana's rose gold iPhone 11 in the other. She dropped the thief, who was actually yet another unpaid intern hired by Chris, and waved the phone in the teens' faces. "So, who does this belong to?"

"Ariana," beckoned Janice. "Sierra, _the_ Sierra, got your phone back." At this, Ariana practically leapt into the air and hugged the former Total Drama contestant.

"You are a _lifesaver_, I'm totally giving you a shoutout in my next video." Sierra stilled in Ariana's arms, and took a close look at the Youtuber.

"Wait…oh my gosh! You're Tessa from Tessa's World!" The infamous fangirl started squealing and wrapped her arms so tightly around the other girl that Ariana could barely breathe. It was only when she started choking that Sierra released her. "I've seen all your videos, even the super old ones that were kinda bad! You're my role model!"

Ariana gasped for air. "You…are…a grown ass woman…" she said between breaths.

"OMG, we need to take a picture together!" Sierra got out her own phone and grabbed the influencer so hard her arm nearly fell out of its socket. Before Ariana could protest, Sierra had snapped four different photos, and was already pushing her away. "Ooh, this one looks so good, look!" She shoved the phone in Ariana's face, showing a picture of Sierra with her trademark Stepford Smile and Ariana looking as if she had only murder on her mind. "Here, I'll send it to you, what's your number?"

Ariana, with her perfectly straight teeth clenched, growled, "Why the hell would I give you my phone number, you psycho?"

Before Sierra could even process the question, Rina had stepped in. "What my _dear friend_ here means to say," the blue-haired girl began staring daggers at Ariana. "Is that she would love to give you her number so you can send the picture and whatever else you may happen to feel like sending. Could be directions, or instructions, or _pssh_, I don't know, the exact pinpointed location of a particular hall pass?" She smiled sweetly at Sierra. "No pressure, of course."

Ariana, finally catching on, begrudgingly held her hand out so she could put her number in Sierra's phone. "Yeah, what she said." Sierra acquiesced and Ariana quickly tapped in her digits with practiced ease. Upon returning the phone, she said, "But, like, just know I'm changing my number as soon as we're off this show. No offense."

Sierra jumped and down with glee at the idea of having her favorite Youtuber's personal phone number. She quickly tapped away and sent the picture. Taking one final opportunity to hug Ariana, she yelled, "It was great meeting you, I hope you guys win this thing!" And, almost as soon as she arrived, she was gone.

Janice beckoned for Ariana to check her phone. "Please tell me she told us where to find the hall passes."

Ariana looked at her phone and was surprised that the picture sent was not of herself and Sierra, but of the hall passes being taped to the side of a crosswalk countdown light. She spun herself around and pointed at the crosswalk only a short distance down the street. "There! The hall passes are there!" The group ran over, Zavier pushing extra hard to make it there first. He released the hall passes from their confinement and waved them in the air.

"Told you I ran track!" He gloated with a smirk. Janice took the passes out of his hand and distributed them.

"Good for you, big shot," Janice said, though not unkindly. "Now let's see if you're fast enough to make it back to the theater in time." Before he could respond, she had taken off with Ariana in toe. Rina, knowing that the two girls were on the same team, followed with urgency, leaving Zavier to contemplate how he got left alone so quickly.

He shook his head and took off behind him, confident in his team's ability to win.

* * *

**JOCKS **

Jordan, Aaron, Dalton, and Eleanor found themselves back in the gymnasium where their journey on the show began. Now that they weren't hurling rubber balls at each other as if their lives depended on it, the teens were able to actually take in the appearance of the gym. Above them was a track that circled around the circumference of the building. The base floor was a standard basketball court with bleachers lining the walls. A door to the far end of the court led to a room with state-of-the-art exercise equipment.

Finally, they noticed a row of four tennis ball launcher machines directly underneath one of the basketball hoops. Before they could even react, a loud ping sounded from out of nowhere, and the contestants were being pelted with bright green tennis balls.

Aaron and Eleanor took the brunt of the onslaught, thrashing around to avoid an oncoming ball before getting hit with yet another one.

Dalton, on the other hand, reflexively threw himself to the floor. "Now what in the Sam Hill is going on?!"

Jordan followed suit, but only after getting a good hit to the stomach. Holding his gut with a grimace, the tall boy said, "This is _not_ what I expected. Are they trying to kill us?"

"Maybe," announced Chef's voice from the gym speakers. The teens all searched for the source of the voice before hearing what could only be the man sucking his teeth. "I'm obviously not in the gym, ya clowns. I'm watching a livestream of you knuckleheads while sipping on a nice, refreshing glass of kombucha." He took a loud sip and swallowed, finishing it off with a prolonged "_aah_".

"'Kombucha' and 'refreshing' do not belong in the same sentence," commented Jordan as he motioned for Aaron and Eleanor to get down on the ground.

"I'm on a cleanse, if you must know," said Chef before taking another sip.

Aaron finally managed to duck down, taking Eleanor with him. "What does any of this have to do with finding our hall passes?"

"Oh, right." Chef cleared his throat. "Since you guys are supposed to be big athletes, I didn't see a problem with upping the ante with your challenge." He snickered to himself. "There are four tennis ball launchers for four jocks. In each launcher, there are about, I don't know, three or four balls that have a hall pass taped to them. That means you have about four tries to catch the ball with your pass on it. If you don't catch it, you try again until the machine is out of balls. You can only take a pass coming from _your_ machine. No helping each other out."

"But I thought this whole mini-challenge was supposed to be about teamwork?" asked Eleanor.

Another loud sip. "It is. For everyone else. Why would a bunch of team players like you need a lesson on working together?" He snorted as if Eleanor's question was the dumbest thing he'd ever heard. "So, get your butts off the ground and get ready to do some catching. Be careful, those tennis balls will come at you fast." Just like that, Chef sounded off and left the teens to their devices.

Dalton sprung up like a spring chicken and positioned himself in front of one of the launchers. "Alrighty, I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to catch that hall pass!"

**CONFESSIONAL: Dalton**

"**I've had all sorts of things thrown at me: baseballs, dinner plates, shoes, you name it." The dirty-blonde boy scratched his neck. "Let's just say my pa's not the nicest. But, it did give me experience with catching whatever's thrown at me!"**

Dalton caught the first tennis ball with ease, but frowned at the lack of hall pass taped to it. He threw it aside and quickly caught another one, which was also hall pass-less.

Aaron and Jordan were also up now and were preparing to take on their own launchers. Aaron stopped Jordan and whispered, "If either of us catches the hall pass first, do you want us to wait for each other, or should we just make a dash for the theater?"

"Chef didn't say _everyone_ from our team needed to be at the theater, just that the winning team would be the one with the most players back in time. It wouldn't make sense to stay behind and risk losing the challenge." Jordan stood in front of the launcher next to Aaron's. "And we _are_ winning this challenge," he said with a gleam in his eye.

Aaron nodded, determination visible on his face. Just as a ball came at him, Dalton yelled, "YES!", distracting Aaron and getting him hit in the face.

"Mate, are you okay?" Jordan asked after catching and throwing away a ball. Aaron looked up, revealing a badly bruised right eye. Jordan hissed at the sight.

"Jesus, man. Can you see out your eye?" Aaron nodded slowly and held up a thumbs-up. Both boys then turned their attention to Dalton, who was running out of the gym with a hall pass gripped tightly in his hand. The two members of Team Chris groaned, knowing that if Eleanor found it in her to get up from the safety of the floor, they'd be done for and Team Don would probably have a lead.

Eleanor, contrary to Jordan and Aaron's belief, had no intention of getting up any time soon.

**CONFESSIONAL: Eleanor**

"**Did you see how fast those tennis balls were coming? I'm used to being spiked a fast ball, but multiple ones? At the same time?" Eleanor shivered, her brown skin becoming slightly pale. "I had a bad experience once with a volleyball hitting me straight in the face. It broke my nose and everything." She subconsciously started rubbing her now long-repaired nose. "And after seeing Aaron take one to the face, I definitely was not ready to take that chance. Dodgeball is one thing because the object of the game is to **_**dodge**_**. But this? Way too much, especially for just a mini-challenge." **

Jordan, after a few misses, finally caught a ball with a hall pass attached to it. He pumped his fist and took a look at Aaron, who appeared to be struggling thanks to his black eye. Jordan sighed. "Know what, I can wait for you, man. I'd rather us both make it together with you in this state."

Aaron, however, shook his friend's concern off. "I'm fine, Jordan. Honest!" A ball then hit him in the shoulder. Hard. "I'm perfectly fine!" he said with a cringe.

Jordan frowned. He'd never leave an injured player behind on the field, but this wasn't exactly a field now was it? The rules and social norms on Total Drama were different to anything he had ever seen before. Jordan would be lying if he said he wasn't uncomfortable with the "everyone for themselves" mentality that was encouraged in the competition. Nonetheless, he removed the hall pass from the tennis ball.

"I'll have an ice pack ready for you as soon as you're back, man. Be careful!" He called as he ran out of the gym and into the sunlight.

Only a few yards away from the gym was Dalton, who was sitting on the curb of the street. Jordan gasped at the sight and walked over to the country boy. "What are you still doing here? You should be back at the theater by now!"

Dalton shrugged. "Just waiting for El. I didn't seem fair to leave someone on our team behind. Besides, we all saw her during the dodgeball challenge; she'll be out of there in no time." He finished with a smile.

Jordan admired Dalton's ability to stick to his guns and his confidence in his fellow teammates. But, what Dalton didn't seem to know was that Eleanor was still glued to the gymnasium floor and not at all trying to catch the balls.

But, Jordan figured, Dalton didn't have to know that.

"Right," the dark-skinned boy said with some guilt. "Well, I'll see you at the theater!" He ran off before Dalton could ask him about Eleanor's progress.

Upon entering the Centerstage, he saw the Artsy Kids already seated in the front row. Seeing as that group alone had a significant portion of Team Blaineley, his own team would need to do a lot to catch up in time.

He hoped that Aaron was at least okay.

* * *

**NOBODIES**

"What the hell constitutes a 'shadow' anyway?" wondered Hayato. They had circled the block twice now, and had looked behind just about anything that created a shadow. Mailboxes, awnings, hell, even people. "This is such a waste of time. I just want to _dance_ already. These dumb mini-challenges aren't teaching us shit."

"Hey, look on the bright side," offered Dustin. "The longer we're on the show, the more we get to show off our skills!" He wrapped an arm around Hayato that was immediately and forcefully knocked off. "I posit that we'll be able to start showing off once these first few challenges are out of the way."

"You think?" went Jalen. "Because if I don't get to hop on that stage and put Michael Bublé to shame soon I think I just might explode." The fedora-wearing boy clenched his pale fists. "I can't impress any of the chicks here if I don't get to show my stuff."

"Gee, that's odd," said Zane in a sarcastic tone. "I wonder why you're so concerned about impressing the girls here when you have a girl back home."

Jalen blanched. "Uh…well, y'see it's a whole summer and—"

Zane stopped him. "Cut the crap, Jalen. I know the girl in that picture hanging up in our room is an Instagram model. Who is _engaged_, by the way."

"She's _what_?" squealed Jalen, voice suddenly high. "I mean, uh…she must be cheating on me! How could she?" He threw his head into his hands, peeking between his fingers to see if Zane was falling for the act.

He wasn't. "Do you even know her name?"

Jalen stopped in his tracks and begun wringing his hands together. "Um…it's, like, Britney, right?"

Zane raised an eyebrow, it disappearing into his shaggy brown locks. "She's Swedish."

"Britney isn't a Swedish name?" Jalen looked at the others for backup, but was only met with an irritated glare from Hayato, a laugh from Dustin, and an avoidance of eye-contact from Brianna. "Okay, fine, you got me. What can I do so you don't tell Leon and Zavier?"

"Literally no one cares, bro." Zane rolled his hazel eyes and absently tugged at the chip of obsidian hanging from his necklace. "That should be the least of our worries right now. What we need to focus on is finding that shadow."

Dustin checked his watch and sucked his teeth. "We don't have a lot of time left. Like, barely twenty minutes." He scratched his head before smoothing his black hair back neatly. "We spent too much time forming our group and lost even more by just walking around. At this rate, I believe if we do manage to find the hall passes, we'll just barely make it back in time." He frowned. "This stinks."

"Let's not give up hope yet," said Brianna quietly. "Just think back to what the riddle said. We need to be able to 'take a dive'." She pushed a blonde strand of hair behind her ear. "Maybe we should be looking for swimming pools?"

"There aren't any on this block, we would've seen one by now." Zane scrubbed his chin in thought. "What can you take a dive in that's not a pool?"

"Your dark thoughts?" answered Hayato. Everyone save for Brianna stared at him incredulously. Hayato shrugged. "Hey, I'm trying."

"Dive into math!" announced Dustin after a few seconds of silence. "My school always made us watch these videos called 'Dive into Math and Science'. Very educational. But, even _I_ was bored to sleep by some of them."

"That's nice, Dustin," Zane went with a fake smile. He hated acting fake nice to people, but he knew they were running out of time. Saying anything that could upset the other boy would cut even more into that. "But, I think Chef might have meant something a bit more tangible."

"Like a dumpster?" suggested Jalen who was staring into a dark alley that the group had found themselves in front of.

Hayato shook his head. "No way. There's no way they expect us to go dumpster-diving."

Zane blew air through his nose before saying, "I'm afraid it's the only lead we have." He entered the alley, effectively shrouding himself in darkness. "It would make sense. Alleys are basically giant shadows." He elbowed the dumpster open, not wanting to use his hands to touch the sticky lid. A wave of stench exited the dumpster, causing Zane's to water. He pulled his black t-shirt over his nose. "Who would like to do the honors?"

Jalen gagged as he approached the dumpster. "Chef is so sick for this, so absolutely sick." He hoisted himself up over the edge of the dumpster and stuck his hand in. He felt something squishy and instantly jumped off. "No! I can't do it, I'm sorry!"

"Jalen," Zane said calmly. "You have to. Think of how amazed all the girls will be when they hear you were the only one brave enough to fish through the dumpster for the hall passes? The ones on our team will probably be all over you if you win us the mini-challenge."

Jalen's hazel eyes brightened. "Really? You think they'd care?"

"Of course. Girls love guys who are brave. And you'd be the bravest of the bunch if you go in that dumpster right now." Zane gave Jalen a pat on the back that was more like a push towards the dumpster. However, now emboldened by the prospect of being rewarded with female attention, Jalen took a deep breath and hopped back into the trash receptacle with renewed vigor.

The remaining four watched as Jalen struggled and yelped at coming in contact with various suspicious substances. After a while though, Jalen emerged from the den of disgusting deluge, with five orange hall passes in his grime-covered hand.

The rest of the Nobodies cheered as Jalen passed out the hall passes. It wasn't until he got to Brianna that he bowed. "For you, m'lady," he said in a smooth voice.

"Oh, um…" Brianna's face reddened and she started to back away from Jalen's smelly form. It was only a pointed look from Zane that made her shake away her apprehension and take the hall pass from the still bowing boy. "Thank you, Jalen," she said in a forced but sweet voice.

Hayato noticed the exchanged and silently seethed, snatching the hall pass from Jalen when it was his turn to receive one.

Zane cleared his throat before an argument could break out between the two. "Alright, guys. Time to head back to the theater. How are we doing on time, Dustin?"

Dustin checked his watched again and made a face. "Not too good. If we run, we can make it."

Zane nodded. "Well, let's get to running!" The Nobodies followed his lead and took off into the direction of the Centerstage.

* * *

**DELINQUENTS **

It hadn't been difficult finding the therapist's office. It was a nondescript office not too far away from the theater, and the receptionist at the front desk had been expecting them. For a moment, the Delinquents thought that maybe, just maybe, they'd be able to pull this off in time.

That is, until they met their therapist.

Total Drama's very own Noah was sitting behind an oak desk, with non-prescription glasses hanging loosely over his nose. His long, brown hair was combed back, and his relatively short legs were leaned on top of the desk. He held a clipboard in his hands.

"Essentially," the young man said. "My job today is to give you the clearance that you're mentally stable enough to continue in this competition. If I give you the go-ahead, you get your hall pass and can go along your merry way. If I don't, you're stuck here until the end of the hour." He looked at the clock on the wall hanging above the teens, who were sitting on a leather couch across from him. "It took you losers long enough to get here. Because of that, you only have a little under half an hour to convince me you're sane. Proceed to make your case…" he took a look at the clipboard. "…Erica Nunez."

Erica scoffed and stuffed her hands in the pockets of her jean jacket. "What do you want to know?"

"I don't know, why you get into so many fights at school, perhaps?" Supplied Noah, swinging back in forth in his rotating office chair.

Erica tilted her head back. "Because the bitches there are constantly trying me. Need anything else?" She finished with a sarcastic smile.

Noah took another look at the clipboard. "It says here that you've set the school district record for most detentions. It also says that you once punched a girl so hard you knocked out her front teeth. You were able to claim self-defense so you didn't serve time." He took off his fake glasses. "Seems to me you have some serious anger issues, Miss Nunez."

Erica practically leapt out of her seat. She pointed a finger at Noah. "You don't know how the kids are at my school. You don't know how they treat me and my sisters. You don't know how many times I've gone to the teachers to do something about it, and every single time they turn a blind eye. So, I started taking matters into my own hands, so what?" She stared into Noah's dull, practically lifeless eyes and took a step back. "Whatever, you don't care." She plopped back into her seat. "Nobody does."

Noah put his hands together and hummed. "So, that's why you're always angry? Because you think no one cares?"

Erica rolled her brown eyes. "What do you think?"

Noah hummed again. "Well, I think that you've been having a natural reaction to a serious problem." He opened a drawer in the desk and pulled out a hall pass. Sliding it over the desk, he said, "So, you're free to go."

She got back up and took the hall pass slowly. "Really?"

Noah shrugged his skinny shoulders. "I'd ask more but we're kinda running on limited time. I'd go now if I were you." Erica looked at the hall pass in her hands and then back at Noah before leaving the office.

"Okay, so who's next…" Noah flipped to the next page of the clipboard. "Aha, Kirsten Laverre. You've been through some things." He peered down list Kirsten's sheet. "Yeah, some things that I can't even say aloud on here lest I be hit with a HIPAA violation." He took his legs off the desk and leaned forward. "So, it's no wonder that you're as much of a mess that you are. My question is, why?"

Kirsten peered out of the corner of her downturned eyes at both Drew and Chiara. Chiara wasn't the type to spill people's secrets—hell, he barely talked at all. But she didn't trust Drew, no matter how nice he was to her in the theater earlier.

"I don't have to say anything, you can't make me," she said, crossing her legs.

Noah shook his head, annoyance clear on his face. "I'm not trying to make you, Miss Laverre. But, if you don't talk to me I can't give you this hall pass." He retrieved the pass from the drawer and placed it on the desk. "So, you can either tell me what happened, or I we just sit here and stare at each other for the next twenty minutes."

Kirsten was prepared to take the latter option, but Drew turned to her and whispered, "Come on, just tell him what he wants to know. It won't kill you."

Kirsten pursed her lips. "It might not kill me, but it will get in the way of me staying in this game. I know you'll use whatever I say against me. That's just how you are."

Drew melodramatically slapped a hand to his chest. "Who's stereotyping who now?" He held eye contact with her until Noah loudly coughed.

"Miss Laverre, whenever you're ready," said the older man. Kirsten took a deep breath.

"People were always spreading…rumors." She started fiddling with a loose thread hanging off her yellow top. "I don't even know where any of them came from. I guess when you look like me," she said, gesturing to the curves of her body. "People assume you're a slut. According to the jerks at my school I've hooked up with teachers, gotten knocked up, it's just so—" She stopped herself from screaming in anguish and took another deep breath. "It's not fair. So, I figured, what's the point of being nice to everyone if they're all just gonna turn their back on me and talk shit? It's pointless." She turned away from the boys sitting next to her and stared at the wall.

Noah wordlessly slid the hall pass closer to Kirsten, who almost immediately took it. Before he could even give his analysis, she was out the door.

Drew whistled lowly before turning to Chiara. "I guess it's just you and me left, huh? Time to bare our souls to ol' Noah here." He gestured to the older man. "Speaking of, how's your time been since leaving the show? I hear you're doing pretty good for yourself. How'd Chris rope you into doing this? It's not like you need the money."

"None of your business, Mr. Hanson." He looked at the clipboard. "You want to explain to me why you served time in juvie at the age of 15?"

Drew rolled his eyes. "Wouldn't you just love to know that." He placed his hands behind his head and leaned comfortably into the couch. "Well, it all started when I was born. Parents didn't want me, blah blah. Got sent to the orphanage, it sucked, blah blah. Got adopted, it was great, blah blah." He spread his ripped-jean clad legs out. "Got bullied for being adopted. Got into some trouble. Ended up in juvie. And, that's the story of Drew Hanson!" He finished it off with a set of jazz hands before huffing a dry laugh.

Noah stared at him blankly and wrote something down on the clipboard. "Yeah, I'm keeping you here."

Drew shot up out of his position. "What?! Why? I told you what you wanted!"

"Yeah, but you didn't sound like you actually cared. You're not ready to get down to the nitty-gritty of why you're a self-described asshole." He flipped to Chiara's page. "So, Fifi Chiara, I have a similar question for you, why—"

Drew took to the door. "Nope, this is bullshit, I'm leaving!" He left the office with a slam so hard the paintings on the wall shook.

Noah chuckled. "Have fun going to the theater without a hall pass. Idiot." He turned his attention back to Chiara. "So, what's your real story? I know you weren't the son of an opera house sweeper or whatever it is you tell people in Italy. It says here," he read off the clipboard. "That you spent time at a juvenile reform school-type bootcamp around 14. What's up with that?"

Chiara chanced an odd smile. "I wish to not discuss that just yet. I hope you understand." Noah placed his head in his hand and gave a grunt.

"Sure, doesn't matter to me. You wouldn't have been able to make it in time anyway." He pointed at the clock. "Only five minutes left."

Chiara shook his long black locks and relaxed into the couch, folding his long arms over his chest comfortably.

One could not lay all their cards out so soon, he believed.

* * *

**CENTERSTAGE THEATER **

The end of the hour was announced with the sounding of a buzzer. Drew had just arrived at the theater, albeit without a hall pass. Dalton and Eleanor were right behind him but unfortunately just a second too late. The coaches for each team were collecting the hall passes on stage.

"Let's see," began Chris. "Looks like for my team we got Jordan, Hayato, Ariana, Janice, Erica, and Aaron." He nodded to Aaron who had managed to make a last-minute entrance with his hall pass. The bruised boy gave his coach a thumbs-up. "I have no idea where the kids from the Teacher's Pets are."

Blainely sniffed. "Well, my team did pretty damn good if I do say so myself." She counted off the hall passes in her hands. "Gemini, Millie, Luna, Zavier, Zane, Jalen, and Brianna made it back in time." She looked at Don and the meager amount of passes in his hand. "What about you, Don?" She asked with a quirk to her lips.

He sighed. "I only have hall passes for Ivan, Dustin, Rina, and Kirsten. Drew came in on time but without a hall pass, and Eleanor and Dalton were just a smidge too late." He scratched his head. "I am a little concerned about the Teacher's Pets crew."

"Who cares, clearly Team Blaineley has won the mini-challenge!" Blaineley clapped for her team. "So, let's see about getting you guys that sabo—" Just then Leon came trudging in, carrying Devon over his shoulder. Genevieve and Nadine were right behind them, both holding their stomachs. Chiara casually sashayed in behind the group and joined the rest of his team. Leon deposited Devon in one of the chairs and held up his hall pass.

"We're here! We made it on time, right?" Leon asked, an unhinged urgency in his voice.

"Um…no," said Chris. "What…happened?"

Nadine fell into a chair, face practically green. "That woman…you left us with…she-" she gagged a bit and motioned for Genevieve to continue for her.

Genevieve was faring no better but took on the reins. "Izzy took us on a joyride around downtown…" she clutched her stomach tighter. "I don't know how the cops didn't pull us over, but we were going around 80 miles an hour." She fixed her windblown blonde ponytail. "She told us to drink these 'energy drinks' to get us pumped up but they were laced with…with something." Being a college girl, she knew that the drinks were alcoholic, but she didn't want to scandalize Nadine and Devon more than they already were. "In order for us to get our hall passes, we had to chug four of them. Devon passed out on the second one." She waved a hand at Devon's unconscious form. "The rest of us managed but Nadine and I got sick." She put a hand over her mouth and shook her head at the memory. "I hope you didn't pay a huge deposit for the taxi. It's kind of…destroyed now."

Leon chuckled. "I quite enjoyed it! It was a fun time and I got to spend it with my new friends." He looked at a passed-out Devon and the two sickly girls. "Plus, that Izzy is hilarious!"

"Well," said Chef. "At least someone appreciated it. Regardless, Team Blaineley is still the winner of the mini-challenge and they get the sabotage for the next challenge." The team hooted at the announcement.

Blaineley clapped for the teens. "Head back to the dorms and get ready to come back here in three hours. We have a huge challenge planned for you guys, so do whatever you need to do to wind down before it begins. Believe me," she glanced at a wasted Genevieve and Nadine, an absolutely trashed Devon, Aaron with his black eye, and Jalen covered from head to toe in filth. "You all look like you need it."

They all filed out of the theater and Chris turned to the camera. "Let's see if our contestants are ready to put on a good show for us after the break!" He sniffed the air and made a disgusted face. "And someone make sure Jalen takes a shower!"

* * *

**Thanks for reading! I figured I'd make up for the long wait for this episode by giving you guys a super long chapter. I know it's been a looooooooong time since I last updated. I've actually had most of this chapter written out since November. Long story short, things got really crazy school-wise in December and have not let up since lol. Luckily, I'm currently on my law school's trial team! But it's a major time commitment. However, this quarantine has given me an opportunity to finally finish writing this chapter! And I'm gonna try my hardest to push as much as I can out before they open schools back up. Thanks for keeping up with me and reminding me to update, seeing you guys still being interested in this has really motivated me to continue. Sooo, here come some questions:**

**What did you think about the mini-challenge? Did you think your character's clique fit them?**

**How did you feel about the interactions between the characters that were put together for the mini-challenge?**

**It's still fairly early in the competition, but aside from your own character, who are you rooting for? Either individually or team-wise.**

**Are there any characters that you want to see interact more?**

**Still feel free to leave suggestions for challenges and mini-challenges! I love hearing your ideas and other feedback. Thanks again for reading!**


	10. High School Musical (PART 2)

Three hours later, the teams were filing back into the Centerstage Theater feeling renewed and refreshed. The mini-challenge had taken a lot of out of the contestants and a break was highly in order. Jordan had gotten Aaron an icepack as promised, Jalen had taken a much-needed shower, and the members of the Teacher's Pets crew had hocked down a whole bottle of ibuprofen before taking a nap. Devon at some had point risen from his alcohol-induced slumber and was screeching at the tops of his lungs at anyone who would listen.

"We could have _died!_ I want everyone on this show sued! _Expeditiously!_" He yelled to the back of Chiara's head as they took their seats.

Chiara appeared to ignore him, but once the boy was done ranting, he simply replied, "You cannot sue with no damages, and the only thing damaged is your pride." He smiled at Devon's gaping expression and turned his attention to the stage, where the coaches were standing once again.

Chris scanned his beady eyes through the audience. "Boy, do we have a challenge for you!" He walked closer to the top of the stage. "We all know everyone in the world hates musicals, right?"

"Uh," said Millie. "Define everyone?"

Chris rolled his eyes. "Fine, everyone in the world _but Millie_ hates musicals—"

Genevieve interrupted with, "I don't mind them, opera is similar to your typical musical." The other two opera singers, Rina and Chiara, chimed in agreement. Chris groaned.

"Okay, whatever, plenty of people like musicals. But! They still suck, and there's nothing any of you can say to convince me otherwise." He placed his hands on his hips defiantly, as if daring anyone to contradict him. "Anyway, that brings us to what we have planned for you today." He nudged Don with his elbow, cueing him to say his part.

Don nodded and started with, "You…"

Chris continued, "Will be putting on…"

Blaineley yawned and flatly said, "A…"

All three sing-songed (or, more like Chris and Don sing-songed while Blaineley said it in a whine), "Musicaaaaal!"

Groans escaped from half the audience, the other half either completely neutral on the announcement or quietly interested in the direction this competition could go. Millie, of course, was not so quiet.

A high-pitched pig-like squeal exited the theater kid's mouth as she stood up to give a one-girl standing ovation. She kept this going for a full minute before stopping for air. She remained standing, waiting for the coaches to continue their spiel.

"O…kay?" went Chris before whispering to Don, "I think we might have to sedate Millie for this challenge."

Blaineley scoffed. "I heard that! There will be no sedation of the one person on my team that will lead us to victory." She turned her perfectly sculpted nose into the air. "Besides, that sounds like a sabotage, and we already won that, didn't we Team Blaineley?"

The team whooped and wolf-whistled, much to the chagrin of the other two teams. Chris rolled his eyes and held his hands up in a T-formation to call off the celebration. "Not so fast, Team Blaineley. You still have to actually do well in the challenge if you want a chance at a _real_ win. And we, your coaches, will be helping you guys meet your full potential! Or whatever."

Don nodded. "We'll be acting as the directors for your productions. You won't be putting on a full musical. Not only do we not have the time for that, but we also could only afford the rights for three songs from each show."

"Plus, I'm sure most of you can barely act," muttered Blaineley.

"So," Don continued, ignoring Blaineley's jab. "We've decided to split each of the three numbers you'll have to perform into a different category. Each team will have to perform a powerful solo number, a love song that can either be a duet or an ensemble number, and a huge ensemble number that gets people up out of their seats. It doesn't have to be in that order, just perform them in a way that makes sense for your show."

Chris rubbed his hands together. "Now, you're probably all wondering what musical you'll be performing. We were able to snag the rights of three shows that have one very simple thing in common: _High School Musical_, _Grease_, and _Hairspray_."

"Well?" asked Erica after a beat. "What do they have in common?"

"I think it's that they all star Zac Efron," supplied Zavier. At this, Millie sucked her teeth.

"Zac Efron never did _Grease_, that was Vanessa Hudgens in the televised live version." _Uncultured swine_, she thought to herself.

"Millie's right, it's because they all have John Travolta!" Eleanor said confidently.

The short-haired theater kid shook her head. "Also no."

Jalen guessed, "It's because they're all movies, right?"

"No way, it's because they all took place in the distant past," countered Dustin. Aaron sputtered.

"Uh, High School Musical was released and took place in 2006," Aaron paused. "Not that I would know that!"

Dustin shrugged. "That's still the distant past. Most of us were barely out of the womb then."

Chris slapped his hand on his forehead, the sound loud enough to cut off the debate taking place in audience. "No! It's because they all take place in high school! Get it? We made you guys sort into cliques like in high school for the mini challenge and then we—I had a whole speech at the beginning of the episode, come on!"

Chef walked on the stage with three popsicle sticks in his hand as Chris finished ranting. Chris huffed and pointed at his colleague, "Chef will be doing the honors of dictating which team does what show. We figured it'd be easier than us trying to decide who gets to choose first." He said, remembering the debacle from the line dance challenge. "So, have you come to a decision, man?"

Chef shrugged. "Nah, I'm just gonna wing it." Before anyone could process that, Chef blindly threw a popsicle stick at each of the judges, and hastily walked off the stage. Chris, anticipating Chef's antics at this point, was the only one to catch a stick.

"Aha, alright Team Chris, it looks like you'll be doing…" he peered at Chef's chicken-scratch handwriting on the stick. _"High School Musical_!"

Don ducked down and picked up his popsicle stick, reading aloud, "Team Don has _Grease_!" He puffed his chest out in pride. "A classic. You know, I was almost cast as the lead in the reboot mini-series Netflix was supposed to do of _Grease_."

"Oh yeah? What happened to it?" asked Blaineley, who didn't bother with picking up her popsicle stick since there was only one musical left.

Don frowned. "Apparently no one wanted a dark, gritty reboot of _Grease_. Who knew?"

"Anyway," said Blaineley, already over the conversation. "That means we're doing _Hairspray_, team. We got this in the bag." Her eyes shifted to the side. "Hopefully."

"Now that we have our musicals, you'll have three hours to choose your songs, cast roles, rehearse, and perfect your performances." Informed Chris. "The interns have the sets covered. Props, if needed are backstage, and as always costumes are in the dressing rooms." Chris hopped off the stage, joining his team in the audience. "Your time…starts…NOW! Quick, Team Chris, storm the stage!" His plea went to no avail, as Blaineley had already silently coaxed her team to the stage via Intense Staring.

"I figured you'd try some low-down, dirty trick, Chris." She flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder. "Better try to get your team to the dance studio before Don, or else you'll be stuck rehearsing in the dorm lobby." She finished with a snicker and snapped her fingers to get her team's attention. Chris glared at his fellow coach, but he had to admit that he respected her hustle.

"To the studio, losers!" Ordered Chris with a pointed finger in the air. The teens ran with their coach in toe, leaving Team Don in the dust.

Don sighed as he looked at his team, who had barely made any move to find a rehearsal spot. "Would it kill you guys to show a little enthusiasm?"

Ivan shrugged. "Probably."

Don was worried for the first time since the competition started.

* * *

**TEAM BLAINELEY**

Blaineley waited until Team Don had (reluctantly) shuffled out of the theater to address her team. "Okay, kiddies, we got _Hairspray_. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but the costumes will be cute at least." She surveyed the contestants, stopping only when her eyes landed on Millie. "So, what songs are we thinking?" Though she addressed the whole team, Millie knew Blaineley was counting primarily on her opinion.

Millie pretended to think for a moment, not wanting to alarm anyone with the fact that she had already planned out their entire performance the second the challenge was announced. "Hm, oh, I don't know…'Good Morning Baltimore' would be a pretty solid solo number. And, gosh…maybe 'Without Love' could be our love song?" She started fiddling with her short, bobbed hair. "And, it would only make sense that 'You Can't Stop the Beat' be our show-stopper ensemble number, right?" She bit her lip in faux contemplation. "But, I don't know, I'm just spit-balling. What do you guys think?" She aimed her dark brown eyes innocently at her teammates.

"I think that's a great plan, Millie!" Leon said, giving the girl a pat on the back. "'You Can't Stop the Beat' is guaranteed to get everyone dancing."

"Yeah, that all sounds good to me too," added Gemini. Millie grinned and ran up to Blaineley.

"Well, since we have the songs, I have a cast in mind too! Plus, the choreography for two of the songs—I'm still brainstorming what to do for 'Good Morning Baltimore'. But, for costumes, we should—"

"Whoa, slow your roll, Millie." Blaineley gently pushed the 16-year old away from her. "I'm no musical theater expert, but I'm pretty sure we should, y'know, actually cast the show before we jump to costumes." She put a hand to her chin. "Okay, for Tricia—"

"Tracy," Millie corrected.

"Sure. For Tracy we should probably cast…" she looked at all the girls on the team and frowned. "I guess Luna?" She pointed at the petite British girl, whose eyes widened in response.

Millie balked. "Why Luna?! I'm right here!"

"Yeah but…" Blaineley grimaced. "How do I say this without getting the show cancelled…" she screwed one eye shut. "Trudy's not Asian?"

"_Tracy_," Millie corrected again, this time with her teeth clenched. "And she's also supposed to be a big girl, which Luna is nowhere near," she said as she waved a hand at the waif-like girl. "I, on the other hand," she motioned towards her own chubby form. "Wouldn't _need_ a fat suit to play Tracy, which would cause a lot of controversy for the show, don't you think?"

Blaineley considered it in her head. "You have a point. I only brought it up because _Hairspray_ takes place during, like, slavery."

"The _60s_!" Millie amended with a growl. She took a deep inhale and mentally tossed her irritation out the door; she got the lead, after all. "Now, that that's settled, I think Jalen would make an excellent Link." At this, Jalen's mouth fell open before slowly morphing into a smile. Blaineley rolled her eyes and started writing the cast list down on a notepad.

**CONFESSIONAL: Millie**

"**Now, you may be wondering why I would **_**ever**_** cast Jalen of all people as my leading man. He's annoying, skeevy, and gross—everyone knows this." She leaned forward into the booth, voice now conspiringly low. "But, I have a plan. Aside from Leon, Jalen's the only one on the team I can trust so far. I want to see what he's made of and if we work well together. If we don't, well, he's the one I'll vote off if we lose." She tapped her fingers together. "If we **_**do**_**, then I think it's time I form my first alliance." She giggled. "Can you imagine? Me, in an alliance! Everyone from my theater troupe will be so jealous."**

"I-I'd be honored, Millie!" Jalen said, voice high with gratitude. He cleared his throat and tilted his fedora. "Maybe after I play the Link to your Tracy, we can _link_ up for a date, huh?" He contorted his face into what was probably supposed to be a smoulder, but instead came off as his facial muscles spasming wildly. Millie had to swallow down the urge to vomit.

"Mm, we'll, uh, see about that!" She said quickly. She went back to dictating the roles before Jalen could say something else so terrible she dies of secondhand embarrassment. "Zavier will be Seaweed."

Zavier lifted a finger. "But I—"

Millie bulldozed over whatever Zavier planned to say. "As for Penny…" she looked between the remaining options. Gemini didn't have the right voice for the role, it was too raspy and deep. She really didn't care who it was between Luna and Brianna, as long as they didn't ruin the show. "Zavier, you pick. You will be singing with them, after all."

Zavier crossed his arms and mimicked Millie's position. After a few moments, he finally said, "Brianna." The blonde blanched but nodded, seemingly accepting her fate.

**CONFESSIONAL: Zavier**

"**Here's the thing about King Z: he hates musicals. But, if I have to be forced to do this, then I might as well have a hottie on my arm while I'm doing it." He twisted in his chair a bit. "Not that Luna's bad looking, but she's like twelve. Or fifteen, same difference. Either way, I'm too old to be seen singing some lovey-dovey song to her."**

"Leon," Millie said as she approached the Spaniard. "You'd be a spectacular Edna Turnblad, I just know it!" Leon beamed at this and high-fived the younger girl. "And Gemini, your voice is perfect for Motormouth Mabel." Gemini supplied a thumbs-up, just glad that she could be included.

"Corny Collins nor Amber Von Tussle have lines in any of the songs we picked, but I think Zane and Luna should play them anyway, just to give more life to our performance." The two contestants accepted the roles wordlessly.

"Cool, we're done? Because I have the song sheets right here." Blaineley pulled a crate full of lyric sheets from clear out of nowhere and began distributing everyone their respective songs. "Should we rehearse this in order or…?" the woman asked Millie.

"I know 'Good Morning Baltimore' like the back of my hand," answered the actress. "So, I think we should focus on getting everyone else acquainted with the other songs." She looked between the two song sheets and then at Zane, Luna, Leon, and Gemini. "You guys should practice the key change in 'You Can't Stop the Beat' while I whip these guys into shape for the love song. Jalen, Zavier, Brianna—'Without Love' from the top!"

…

"I can't do it!" Brianna cried. It had been an hour since they had begun rehearsing, and they had barely made any progress through "Without Love". Well, Millie and Jalen had gotten their parts down, but when it came time for Brianna and Zavier to sing together…

"Bro, what is your problem?" asked Zavier for what felt like the fifth time that hour. "It's a _song_. You're not marrying me."

"I know…" the blonde whispered as she backed away from her singing partner. "But these lyrics are just so inappropriate, and the dance moves Millie wants us to do are even worse. I can't do that on national television, I'm sorry." Brianna eventually hit a wall and wrapped her pale arms around herself. Everyone could tell that she was on the verge of tears.

Zane groaned and banged his head against his song sheet, silently wondering when this would end. Gemini and Leon went over to Brianna to comfort her.

"Maybe we can cut some of the lyrics out, yeah? And make the choreography a bit more PG? Would that help?" Gemini asked as she rubbed the younger girl's back. Leon, who was stroking her hair, nodded.

"Yeah, then you won't be as uncomfortable performing the song!" The three looked expectantly at Millie.

Millie was ready to tell the trio that that was the stupidest thing she had ever heard, and that Brianna had better suck it up, when Blaineley said, "We're not allowed to change any lyrics. And, no offense, but the dance moves aren't _that_ bad. Not to spoil anything for you guys, but you'll definitely have to do something way more inappropriate than that somewhere down the line if you stay in the game, Brianna."

"What?!" Brianna squawked before nearly fainting into Gemini's arms. Zane had to stop himself from crumpling up his sheet in frustration.

"Luna," Zane called to the Brit. "Why don't you and Brianna switch roles? We won't have as much time, but we've wasted enough already."

"If my parents catch a university-aged man singing about how much he wants to touch me they might have him killed," she said in a casual, airy tone. Zavier, who was listening to the exchange, gulped.

"Brianna, please!" He got on his knees before the girl. "I don't want Luna's rich parents to kill me!" Brianna looked down at the boy, feeling some sympathy but mostly deep discomfort. She wanted to say she could do it, she wanted to take one for the team. But, the more she thought about it, the more she simply couldn't do it.

**CONFESSIONAL: Brianna**

**Brianna sat in the booth, sniffling quietly as she geared herself up to speak. Her voice came out thick with emotion. "The last thing I want is to bring the team down, but no one seems to understand where I'm coming from!" She wiped a tear from her eye. "I know it sounds silly, but men…they just scare me. And, I know none of the boys on my team are particularly scary—Leon's like a giant teddy bear, and Zavier is as harmless as a fly. Zane is…well, Zane. And Jalen…" she shivered. "He's weird, but not necessarily scary. The point is, I know I'm overreacting, but I just can't stop myself from feeling nervous." She covered her face with her hands. "They're all gonna vote me off soon, aren't they?"**

Zane observed his teammates as they scrambled to think of an alternative. Millie was panicking to Jalen while trying her darndest to seem like she wasn't. Leon and Gemini were doing their best to stop Brianna from having a breakdown. Zavier and Luna were trying to work out how they could get away with the slightly PG-13 lyrics without Zavier's head ending up on a skewer.

Blaineley was, of course, filing her nails.

Zane huffed. It looked like he would have to take matters into his own hands after all.

He approached Leon and tilted his head towards the other side of the stage so the lion-maned boy would follow him there. Leon gave Brianna one last pat on the head and acquiesced. Once out of earshot, Zane whispered, "I know you still have a couple of those 'energy drinks' stashed in the room."

Leon's face paled. "I-I know it's against the rules, but I'm of legal drinking age in Spain so I thought it wouldn't hurt to have a few drinks to celebrate with. Please don't tell!" Zane shook his head.

"I have no intention to, big guy. But unfortunately, you won't be able to celebrate with them." Leon raised an eyebrow in confusion. Zane elaborated, "Brianna needs to be able to perform. She won't want to unless she has some…liquid courage, so to speak. I need you to grab those drinks so we can get Brianna just tipsy enough to do the challenge without crying."

Leon was quiet. Finally, he said, "But doesn't that sound…a bit wrong? If she can't do it sober, why should she do it at all?"

Zane placed his hands on Leon's broad shoulders. "Because we need to win. We can worry about the moral implications of what we're doing later."

Leon considered his words, conflict visible in his blue eyes. Eventually, he nodded. "I'll be right back!" he called before dashing off the stage and out of the theater.

Blaineley noticed this immediately. "Hey! Where the hell does he think he's going? We're still putting on this show!"

Zane stuck his hands into his pockets and averted his eyes from the coach. "Oh, he's just getting Brianna something to calm her down. He'll be back soon." He walked over to Zavier and Luna, who were still fussing over what to do. "Don't worry, guys. Brianna can play Penny."

Both teens stared incredulously at Zane before taking a peek at Brianna's current state. They turned back to Zane. "Yeah, uh," Zavier said. "No, she can't."

Zane sighed and lowered his voice, "Just trust me," he said, before walking away. Luna and Zavier exchanged nervous glances.

"It's funny," Luna said. "Because I feel like trusting Zane is the last thing any of us should do."

* * *

**TEAM CHRIS**

"Okay, Wildcats," said Chris once the team made it to the dance studio. "You guys ready to put on the best show Total Drama has ever seen? If not, don't let the door hit you on your way out!" He waited for anyone to object and smiled when everyone remained in their spots. "Awesome. Without further ado, I think it's time we get this cast list in order." He took out a notepad and pencil, and began pointing the pencil at the contestants as he said their names. "Aaron! You will be Troy. Janice will be Gabriella."

Janice clasped her hands together excitedly. She'd finally get to prove her worth on the team and show off her singing pipes, even if she was still a tad insecure about them. "I won't let you down, Chris."

Aaron, however, was not as enthusiastic. "Wait, wait, wait. Why do I have to be Troy?"

Chris rolled his eyes. "Come on, dude. I know everything about you; you're basically Troy Bolton in the flesh. Hot shot athlete that's secretly into musicals? That's you to a T."

Aaron began to sweat. "M-me? I'm not into musicals! I've never even seen one! Up until last year I thought a musical was a type of sauce!"

Genevieve frowned and pointed out, "But you seem very knowledgeable about musicals. You knew the exact year _High School Musical_ came out, referenced _Saturday Night Fever_ just the other day, and even this morning at breakfast you were humming a song from _Newsies_." The blonde buffed out a scuffmark on the floor with her leather sandals, seemingly unaware of the turmoil she was causing Aaron. "You know, there's no shame in enjoying the genre. I don't think anyone here would make fun of you for it."

The Chicano teen placed his hands atop his curly head of hair as he looked around the room. "You…mean that? You wouldn't think I was soft for believing _Newsies_ was God's gift to man?"

"I would," instantly replied Chris. But this was drowned out by the rest of the team reassuring Aaron that his secret interest made no real difference to them. He gave an embarrassed chuckle but smiled.

"Thanks guys, you're way more understanding than the guys on my football team." He stopped in his tracks as he slowly realized that his every word was being filmed. "My football team…that is probably watching this as we speak…" he groaned into the air but walked dazedly next to Janice so Chris could continue casting the roles.

"Moving right along," the coach said. "Jordan will be Chad, Ariana can play Sharpay, and Chiara will be Ryan. Erica will play Taylor, Genevieve will be Kelsi, Devon will be Zeke, and Hayato can play…" Chris scratched his head. "I don't know, the girl who did all those hiphop movies? What was her name, Mary?"

"Martha," Aaron supplied blithely. When everyone looked at him, he shrugged. "What? I've seen the movie 27 times, sue me."

"Why do I have to play a girl?" Hayato grumbled with his arms crossed.

"Because there aren't any more male characters with names that sing, kid." Hayato tilted his head back in frustration, but quickly came to terms with the decision.

"Fine," he said. "But I'm not wearing a wig."

"Whatever," went Chris as he threw the notepad on the ground. "Now that we have the cast, we need songs. Obviously, we have to do 'We're All in This Together' for the ensemble number. I don't really care about the rest as long as it wins us the challenge." He pulled up a chair and sat down, prepared to let the contestants take the reins until they did something that he could yell at them for. "Deliberate amongst yourselves."

"'Breaking Free' should be our duet, Aaron." Janice told the athlete. "It's a harder song to pull off than 'Start of Something New', but that way, we'll be able to show off our vocal prowess better."

**CONFESSIONAL: Janice**

"**Ever since the…incident back home, I'll admit I haven't been as confident in my singing abilities," said the Singaporean girl. "But I think being on this show will help me get that confidence back. I was born to sing, and I refuse to let one little mishap get in the way of that." She played with her dark ponytail as she cringed at a memory. "As long as I don't have to hit any whistle notes, that is."**

Aaron nodded in agreement. "Sounds good to me. The only solo song is 'When There Was Me and You', so it looks like you'll be doing most of the singing this challenge, Janice." Janice had to stop herself from pumping her fist, knowing that there would be time for such a celebration in private. Ariana was not very happy with this information, however.

"How is that fair? None of us have barely had the chance to sing, but Janice gets to sing in all three songs?" The curly-haired girl placed her manicured hands on her hips. "No way, I'm not waiting another day to sing. The solo should be 'Fabulous'. Everyone loves that song."

Genevieve stepped in, sensing that Janice was about to give Ariana a piece of her mind by the look on her face. "That would be lovely, Ariana. But, unfortunately, 'Fabulous' is a song from the second _High School Musical _movie, not the first one. I'm pretty sure we can only do songs from one musical."

Ariana tapped her white platform sandals on the ground, irritated. "If that was the case, don't you think Chris would've said we can only perform _High School Musical_ _1_? Why would he leave it that ambiguous if not so we could do songs from any of the movies?"

"Because no one calls it '_High School Musical 1_', dumbass." Erica remarked. Ariana was almost instantly in her face.

"I don't think I recall asking you, low-class flop." Ariana smirked at the flash of anger in Erica's eyes. "Chris is the only one that knows for sure."

"So, let's ask him then," said Erica. "Chris, wouldn't it be _super fucking dumb_ for us to sing a song from a musical you never mentioned as an option?" Both girls waited for Chris' reaction as they stood in a heated stare-off. When Chris never replied, they turned to look at him, only to see that he had busied himself with a game on his phone.

Noticing the silence in the room, he looked up from the game and went, "What? Did I miss something?"

Right when Erica was about to go, "Can you actually do your job?", Ariana chirped, "Nope! We're just finalizing our song choices. 'Fabulous' it is!" She strutted away from Erica before the other girl could throttle her.

"Great! As your director," Chris said, standing up to pass out the song sheets. "I will successfully lead you to…success…" he finished lamely. Once he finished passing out the sheets, he lifted a finger and said, "It's best for us to get the big ensemble number out of the way first, right? So, everyone get in your places for 'We're All in This Together'! If you don't know what your place is, well…just make it up!" He connected his phone to the speaker in the dance studio and hit the play button on the music file he already had queued up. "Action!"

…

Team Chris had gotten through the first few rounds of rehearsals without a hitch, which was more than enough to uplift everyone's spirits. Janice had even let Aaron help with the choreography, something she wouldn't have done the day before. Aaron was starting to believe that they were really coming together as a team.

**CONFESSIONAL: Aaron**

"**Rehearsal went surprisingly well! Maybe I was wrong to think that this team was just mediocre." The athlete smiled to himself. "We all work pretty well together. Well, most of us at least. But even some of the more difficult members of the team put forth a lot of effort into this challenge. Even Devon!"**

"Hey," said Janice to Aaron at the end of their second to last run-through of "Breaking Free". "As much as I hate to say this, I totally doubted you."

Aaron's eyes squinted in confusion. "Really?" Janice nodded.

"Yeah. I guess I just wrote you off as some dumb jock that couldn't tell a soprano from an alto." She put her hands up in a "what can ya do" fashion. "But after you admitted to being a total theater nerd, I realized that you might actually know what you're doing. So, I'm sorry." She bowed her head slightly, hoping her apology would be accepted.

Aaron sighed out a laugh. "You're fine, Janice. Honestly, if I had been in your position, I probably would've thought the same thing." He held out a hand. "Truce?"

She took the hand graciously. "Truce. Now, let's go through the choreography one last time. You may have seen this movie a billion times, but you still could use some help on the footwork." She said, though not unkindly. Aaron laughed again and joined her as they started the song again from the top.

Genevieve observed the interaction from her spot up against the mirrored wall and was pleased. She had always sensed the tension between the two Type-A personalities, and was glad that they finally buried the hatchet for the sake of the team. Unfortunately, she noted as she watched Ariana practice her song, that would not be the end of conflict within Team Chris.

**CONFESSIONAL: Genevieve**

"**I've tried about three times now to get Ariana to change her mind about the song. Whether or not we're allowed to sing from two different musicals is one thing. But, even more egregious is the fact that 'Fabulous' isn't even a solo—it's a duet! It shows Ryan's lines right there on the song sheet! I don't want our team to lose on a silly infraction, but Ariana's so set on proving her worth that she refuses to listen to reason." She tapped the ends of her fingers together in concentration. "My Psych 305 professor would say that's a sign of a deep inferiority complex. There's definitely someone in her life that she constantly feels the need to prove herself to. I'll get to the bottom of this…" She bit her lip. "If we can get past this challenge, of course."**

Genevieve tried to at least get Chiara's attention, but to no avail. He and Devon were too busy practicing the "We're All in This Together" choreography. By the time she found a window to get to him, Erica and Hayato were dragging her over to observe some dance move they had concocted. With great resignation, Genevieve realized she simply wouldn't be able to get a song change done in time before rehearsal ended. But with Team Chris' luck, Chef probably wouldn't even notice.

* * *

**TEAM DON**

Once they had (finally) made it to the lobby, Don made quick work of deciding the songs for the team's condensed version of _Grease_. "'Summer Nights' is too good to not use for the ensemble song. 'You're The One That I Want' makes sense for the duet. And, just to give someone who's not playing Sandy or Danny the opportunity to sing, I'll suggest 'There Are Worse Things I Could Do' for the solo. Anyone opposed?" When no one responded, he got his own crate of song sheets out. "Perfect! In that case, I see Drew as Danny and Rina as Sandy. Our T-Birds will be…Dalton as Kenickie, Dustin as Sonny, and Ivan as Doodie. And our Pink Ladies will be Eleanor as Frenchie, Nadine as Rizzo, and Kirsten as Marty." He passed out the corresponding lyrics to the contestants, but was stopped by Rina.

"Actually," said the French youth. "I think Eleanor should be Sandy." Eleanor jumped at this, surprised that Rina even knew her name after three days of barely acknowledging her existence.

"W-what? No, I'm fine as Frenchie, really!" The islander was already practically shaking in her Vans at the mere thought of being the lead.

"Nonsense," went Rina, who was already snatching Eleanor's song sheet out of her hand and replacing it with her own. "I've heard you sing. It'd be crazy to not let you take the spotlight for this challenge. I can be Frenchie. Besides, it'll be funny since I'm actually French." She provided a grin that didn't quite reach her eyes, something that Kirsten quickly noticed.

"Don't do it, El. She's up to something," she whispered to her friend standing next to her. Rina glared at the blonde dancer.

She brushed Kirsten's concern off. "Eleanor can make decisions for herself, last time I checked. So," she said to Eleanor. "What do you say?"

Eleanor looked between Kirsten and Rina, having a sinking feeling that whatever she said would lead to more conflict between the feuding girls. She liked Kirsten but…she also didn't want to make an enemy of Rina. "Sure," she said quietly.

Kirsten scoffed as Rina bared her teeth in a way Eleanor assumed was supposed to be friendly. "Spectacular. You'll do great. You should stand over there," she pointed to where Drew was. "With Drew, since you'll be singing together." Eleanor took a deep breath and went over, chancing one last look back at Kirsten as she went away.

"You're planning something; I can smell it on you." Kirsten said with glare. "Or, maybe that's just your gross European perfume. Either way, it _stinks_."

"It's a Christian Dior fragrance," Rina said in a matter-of-fact tone. "It's no surprise a nose as unrefined as yours wouldn't be able to tolerate it." Kirsten held back a growl. She wasn't going to keep letting Rina get to her. At least, that's what she kept telling herself.

**CONFESSIONAL: Kirsten **

"**Rina's a snooty bitch, right? But, she's not dumb. She knows what she's doing, and I keep falling for it." She rubbed at her temples absently. "She knows that she can get a rise out of me. If I just start ignoring her, she'll stop and move on to somebody else. So," she exhaled. "I just won't give her the reaction she wants anymore. I'll be calm." She closed her eyes and hummed before peeking one open to stare at the camera. "I look calm, right?" **

…

Don decided that it would be easiest to get the solo song out of the way first, and save the rest of the time on perfecting the larger-scale numbers. Nadine, who was giddy with unbridled joy, stood in the middle of the lobby as Don got the music ready on the speaker. The southerner took one last look at her lyric sheet before Don gave her the cue to go.

"_There are worse things I could do…than go with a boy, or two…_" she sung. "_Even though the neighborhood thinks I'm trashy and no good, I suppose it could be true. There are worse things I could do…_" slowly, half the team's attention had turned from their own song sheets to Nadine as her voice echoed off the walls of the lobby.

**CONFESSIONAL: Nadine **

"**You know, it's funny that I got cast as Rizzo. We couldn't be more different; she's basically the town harlot while I'm not even allowed to date until I'm 18." She bit her lip. "Well, 18 and a half. Don't ask why the half's there." She sighed and moved her braids over her shoulder. "I just know my daddy's gonna throw a fit when he sees me singing about sleeping around on TV. But, honestly? I'm actually kinda excited! It's my time to shine, and no one is gonna take that away from me."**

Dustin, Eleanor, and Dalton were waving their hands in the air as if they were holding lighters while Nadine sang. Ivan and Kirsten watched approvingly, while Rina and Drew hashed out the final details of their plan to recruit Eleanor for their alliance.

As Nadine was wrapping up, Dustin leaned slightly over Eleanor to ask, "Hey, how are we supposed to dance in tight leather jackets and pants again? Especially with the stage lights on us? That sounds like a recipe for...well, not disaster, but something not very good either."

Dalton blew a raspberry as he thought. Then he said, "You think they actually have real leather in them dressing rooms?"

Dustin blinked. "Touché."

Later, when there was about an hour left of their rehearsal, Eleanor came to a stark realization.

She did not want to be Sandy.

Sure, it was only two songs, but she wasn't comfortable around Drew in the slightest. 'Summer Nights' was one thing, but when it came time to practice "You're The One That I Want", he got handiser than usual. Yeah, the choreography called for it, but that didn't mean she was going to enjoy it. She dodged his every move as they went through the steps, refusing to be held by him for more than a second.

**CONFESSIONAL: Eleanor**

"**Look, I would've been able to put up with it if it was one of the other guys, but Drew? He's just so…" she pretended to throw up and put her thumb down. "A total jerkaholic. I don't want to give him any funny ideas during this challenge."**

Drew was at his wit's end with Eleanor. Not only was her standoffishness going to potentially cost them the challenge, but it also didn't bear well for the alliance Rina wanted Eleanor to have with them. With the time they had left, Team Don was gearing up to head over to the dressing rooms so they could pick out the kitschiest, sockhoppiest costumes money could buy. With Eleanor walking as far away from him as possible, arms linked with Kirsten, Drew knew there was one thing he had to do.

He was going to have to…be _nice_.

It had worked well enough with Kirsten during the mini-challenge, and even he knew chasing after Eleanor like a rabid dog wasn't a good look.

He just hoped it would be enough.

* * *

**CENTERSTAGE THEATER**

Animated chatter could be heard coming from the Team Chris dressing room. The courtesy-curtain, so dubbed by Chris, that separated the guys and girls was completely open as everyone had finished changing. They were now practicing dance moves and hyping each other up for the performance, the picture of comradery.

"And you're absolutely sure me and Hayato can't do the double-hooked-cartwheel we showed you during rehearsal?" Erica asked Janice, who was slipping on a labcoat over a fire engine red, strappy dress. "Because we would kill it."

Hayato hummed in agreement as he looked at his appearance in the mirror. The red polo and white pants almost suited him. "I can see Chef now," he stood up straighter and said in a deepened voice, "'Bravo! Bravo! Ten million points for Team Chris!'" He shined his nails on his red polo shirt. "He may even cry, and I'd definitely kill to see that." He snickered sinisterly until he met Devon's terrified gaze. The bespectacled boy turned away in fear and busied himself with practicing his dribbling.

Janice, having just finished buttoning up the coat, sighed. "Aaron said it looked too risky, and I'm trying to be a team player here, so I won't go against his word."

Erica crossed her arms. "Well, I'm trying to be a team winner, so…" She hopped on top of the vanity, calling to Aaron, "Hey, Alvarez! Let me and Hayato do the cartwheel thing or your mom's a hoe!"

Genevieve, who was applying powder to her face, tightened her lips together to stop from laughing. Instead, she said, "Now, what if Aaron didn't have a mother, Erica?"

Erica shrugged and straightened the red tie that went with her white blouse and eggshell-colored skirt. "Then his dad's a hoe. My insults are rated E for Everybody." Genevieve almost replied, but noticed that some powder fell on her bright red tube top. Janice was quick to supply her with a makeup wipe, which she accepted gratefully.

Aaron rolled his eyes with a smile. "I have a mom, thank you very much. I don't see what letting you and Hayato break your necks on national television has to do with that, though."

Hayato disagreed. "We are highly trained dancers." A pause. "Or, at least I am." He flinched only slightly at the punch to the arm from Erica. "No one is getting hurt. Especially not to _High School_ freakin' _Musical_."

"I say we let them do it," added Devon. "And if they get injured, it'll be exactly what the good Lord intended! Divine retribution for their increasingly wicked ways." He stuck his nose in the air and began to walk away, unable to see Hayato snatching a hot curling iron off the vanity and waving it threateningly close to the back of Devon's head. Just when Devon was about to turn back around, Jordan managed to snatch the curling iron away from the boy's face. "And another thing! I think—"

"No one cares what you think, bruv," interrupted Jordan as he placed the curling iron back on the counter. Devon's high-pitched voice was already starting to give him a headache. "In fact, some thoughts should stay to oneself, you'd agree with that, wouldn't you?"

Devon puffed out his chest, trying and failing to appear larger than the tall athlete who was wearing a white and red basketball uniform identical to his own. "No, I believe all thoughts are valid. Some get you sent to the fiery pits of Hell where you shall forever suffer eternal and excruciating damnation, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't still be said!"

Jordan looked hard into Devon's eyes, trying—no, _begging_—to find some hint of a joke somewhere, for the choir boy surely had to be putting him on. Alas, all he saw was a void of nothingness. "Man, we have got to get you out more." Before Devon could argue, he placed a basketball into the other boy's hands. "Would you mind standing over in the corner with your face against the wall while practicing the dribbling choreo? You looked just a smidge sloppy back in rehearsal, mate."

Devon's eyebrows furrowed, perplexed. "Why do I have to face the wall?"

"Helps with concentration. My coach used to make us do something similar all the time." What he really meant was that the coach would punish them by making them perform press-ups against the wall for an hour if they were caught slacking in practice, but Devon didn't need to know he was being _punished_, per say. "Do it for about twenty minutes and you'll be golden."

Devon acquiesced, trusting the (almost) professional athlete's judgment. Jordan couldn't help himself from chuckling under his breath, only stopping when he realized Chiara was looking at him. He ducked his head sheepishly. "I think this game might be turning me into a bad person," he joked.

Chiara tilted his head. "Perhaps that's the whole purpose of this game." He stalked off to the other side of the room before Jordan could respond.

Aaron was twirling his own basketball on his index and middle fingers with ease. As the ball spun, Erica snatched it away and started dribbling. Aaron made a _hmmpf_ sound and crossed his arms. "Erica…why," he said flatly.

The Miami native batted her eyes innocently. "So…cartwheel: yay or nay?"

Aaron scrubbed a hand over his face. "Fine. Just please don't die in the process. I think we'd be immediately disqualified for that."

"Sweet!" Erica, in her excitement, threw the ball towards the wall, where it bounced off and hit Devon in the head. The southern boy crumpled to the ground like an empty potato chip bag, screaming.

Erica slapped her hands to her mouth, removing them to yelp, "Sorry, that wasn't on purpose! For once!"

While Chiara and Genevieve helped the boy up, Aaron wondered aloud, "Why was he facing the wall? He would've seen the ball coming if he was looking forward." At this, Jordan started whistling a random tune and fiddled with a lint roller.

Once they had determined Devon was alright, Genevieve and Chiara leaned up against the wall and watched the scene before them. Other than Ariana's pointed lack of acknowledgement of the other team members, everyone seemed downright friendly. Genevieve was glad things were turning up well for the team.

Chiara was less optimistic. In his world, what goes up, always ends up coming down. And when it comes down, it crashes hard. He would never say that aloud, though.

"Chiara, you've been quiet." Genevieve tilted her head slightly. "Well, let's say more quiet than usual. What's on your mind?"

"At the moment?" The college student nodded. "Winning."

…

In the Team Blaineley dressing room, the teens were waiting patiently for Blaineley to return with their sabotage. They had already gotten dressed and were tasking themselves with putting the finishing touches on their looks.

Millie had used half a can of hairspray to create a bump in her hair and used a curling iron to make the ends of her bob curl outwards. She had kept her trademark purple headband, but exchanged her usual corduroy outfit for a white button-up blouse and a blue pencil skirt. She also maintained her knee-high socks and black Mary Janes. She looked at the sequined swing dress hanging on the clothing rack next to her with awe. It would be the dress she'd sport for the final song of their performance. She was in utter bliss.

Luna, on the other hand, was extremely tense. She hated the poofy, bright pink dress and matching pumps she had to wear to play Amber. But, there was something else bothering her too. Ever since Leon had returned from the dorms with something for Brianna, the Japanese girl had been…off.

She suddenly had the confidence to sing and dance with Zavier, complete with letting him pretend to kiss her on cheek for the finale. Not only that, but she was a lot looser on her feet than she normally was and couldn't stop giggling. At one point, she had tripped over her own two feet, and had landed on the ground in a fit of laughter.

Luna may have been young, but she wasn't born yesterday.

"_Psst_, Gemini," she whispered to the songstress. "Do you think someone drugged Brianna?"

Gemini, whose hair was wrapped into a beehive and wearing a purple bell-sleeved dress, checked Brianna out of the corner of her eye. The blonde was swaying back in forth in her chair as she fiddled with the two ponytails now on each side of her head. Her eyes were hooded and glazed as she stared at herself in the mirror. Gemini returned her attention to Luna. "Hell yeah."

"It had to have been Leon," Luna said in a low tone. "She was fine before she drank whatever he gave her."

Gemini gasped. "Leon is the sweetest person here; he would never do something like that." As much as Luna was positive about her theory, she knew Gemini was right. But just because Leon was a friendly guy, didn't mean he wasn't susceptible to not-so-friendly influences…

On the other side of the courtesy-curtain, the guys were getting some last-minute practice in.

"So," Zavier said. "It's _'you can't stop the motion of the ocean_—" he performed a successful Wave dance with his arms and shoulders. "_Or the sun in the sky'_," he made a swooping motion. "_'You can wonder if you wanna, but I never ask why'_." He ran in place as he pointed at his temple and then pointed out away from himself. "Right?" He stopped his dance and looked expectantly at the others, straightening his green and brown sweater vest.

"Yep, you got it!" Leon cheered. "We look really good, friends. I think we might win off our costumes alone." Leon was certainly a sight: his fiery mane was curled into a similar style as Millie's, and he was wearing a gold version of the dress Millie would be wearing for the final song. He swung the dress and watched the fabric move around him. "This is actually quite freeing!"

Zane laughed and marveled at his own get-up consisting of a basic suede suit the color of a tomato. His hair was gelled back much like Jalen's. Jalen himself was wearing an argyle-print sweater and had thankfully done away with his fedora for the evening.

The boys were broken out of their conversation by the sound of a crash from behind the curtain. This was followed by the sound of scurrying and three of the four girls going "are you okay?", and a gaggle of giggles from what could've only been Brianna. Jalen nervously glanced at his teammates. "Is Brianna, uh, okay?"

"She was acting mad weird during rehearsal," Zavier added. "I mean, yeah, we finally got to get through the song, but she definitely seems a little…" He faltered, not wanting to accuse the girl of sneaking any illegal substances onto the premises. Then again, seeing as the place was a former meth lab, maybe—

"She'll be fine," Zane said, cutting off Zavier's thought. "She just needs to sleep it off after the challenge." He hoped that they would just leave it at that, but he noticed Leon fidgeting nervously out of the corner of his eye.

**CONFESSIONAL: Leon**

"**I just feel so guilty about letting Brianna get drunk! I know it was for the good of the team, but sometimes people's safety is more important than victory." He rubbed his bandaged left arm. "I have to come clean, if I don't, the guilt will kill me!"**

"Actually," Leon began, his voice uncharacteristically quiet, "I have a confession to make." He was about to say more, much to the chagrin of Zane, when a knock on the door stopped everyone in their tracks.

Zane breathed a sigh of relief as he rushed to open the door for Blaineley. "Please tell me you have our sabotage."

Blaineley pushed past Zane, grumpily. "You guys sure know how to greet a woman. No 'hey Blaineley, thanks for all your hard work today!'? Really?"

"What hard work did you actually do again?" Luna asked. Blaineley ignored her and held out two slips of notepad paper.

"These here are the cast lists for the other two musicals. Your sabotage, if you so choose to use it, is to pick which show gets their cast turned upside down." She took her phone out of her pocket and pulled up a random name generator app. "Well, not really. Only two cast members switch, and you can't even pick which ones. It has to be random, according to Chef. Of course, we get the sucky sabotage." She sighed. "So, which team will it be? Team Chris or Team Don? Make it snappy."

The team quickly huddled together to discuss their strategy, except for Brianna who was spinning in circles in the background. Gemini was surprisingly the first one to speak. "I don't know about you guys, but everyone on Team Don annoys me, so the sooner we can get them all out, the better."

Luna agreed. "Plus, a lot of the people on that team seem tough to beat. I'd rather have all of them out of here before the merge."

"But," interjected Zane. "Team Chris hasn't lost a single challenge yet. Sure, they haven't _won_ any either, but for all we know that's probably their strategy." Jalen gave him a perplexed look, so he elaborated. "Their whole plan could be to stay under the radar until the merge, while the rest of us take ourselves out of the running."

"Let's just vote on it," said Millie, not wanting to drag this out anymore. "Everyone for sabotaging Team Chris, raise your hand." Millie raised her own hand, along with Zane and Jalen. "Well, I guess that answers that question. We're sabotaging Team Don."

"Fine," said Blaineley as she crumpled up the Team Chris cast list. "Let's see which two members will be switched…" she tapped a few times on her phone until the two names popped up. "Interesting. This'll be one to watch for." She was about to leave when she noticed Brianna still spinning. "Um…what's up with her?"

Zane clamped a hand over Leon's mouth. "Nothing, she's just working through her nerves." He forced a smile as Blaineley observed the situation suspiciously. Eventually, she shrugged and flashed a "deuces" sign before leaving the dressing room.

Millie clapped her hands together twice to call everyone's attention. "Okay, three minutes to showtime, folks. Break a leg, everybody!" She performed her jazz hands and ducked out of the room so she could take her place on stage.

Zavier furrowed his brows and asked Jalen, "Why would she want us to break our legs?" to which the other boy snorted.

…

In the dressing room next door, Team Don was also preparing to start the show. Dustin and Dalton took turns spinning in their T-Bird costumes, showing off their sleek (faux) leather jackets and tight denim jeans. All the guys had their hair gelled to the point that if someone threw a rock at their coif, they wouldn't even feel it. The girls, except for Eleanor, were dressed as Pink Ladies in their pink jackets, black and white striped tops, pleather leggings, and a black scarf tied around their necks. Eleanor was wearing a white blouse tucked into a long, yellow skirt, with a pale blue sweater tied around her shoulders. Her curly hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

"I always thought _Grease_ was a weird movie," remarked Dustin after spinning himself just a little too hard and sitting down. "I mean, why do they just fly into the sun at the end? Were they able to do that the whole time? I think the movie would've been more interesting if they had led with the fact that flying cars existed in the 50s."

Ivan blinked blearily at Dustin, his mind so foggy from lack of sleep that he understood the Filipino boy's words even less than usual. "Since when is _Grease_ about flying cars?"

Dustin laughed. "It's not, but it should have been. Think about how many problems could've been solved if the T-Birds could just _fly_ their car out of any situation? I don't know how, but I feel like the movie would've been over in twenty minutes, tops." Dustin made this point with the utmost confidence, while Ivan simply sunk his head onto the vanity countertop, more confused than he was before.

Nadine appeared from behind the courtesy-curtain and chirped, "That would've been cool, but I think the real weirdest thing about _Grease_ is that Sandy changes her whole image out of nowhere for Danny, and they never talk about it! Why is _that_ the happy ending?"

"Right?" went Kirsten. "I always thought that was the dumbest way to end the movie. At least let Danny keep the goodie-two-shoes image too. Why should she change for him but not the other way around?"

"Blah-blah, no one cares," Drew said as he pushed back the curtain all the way so he could get to the two girls still on the other side. "Eleanor! Just the gal I've been looking for." He slid up to her and tugged lightly on the yellow ribbon keeping her hair up.

Eleanor grabbed her ponytail and pulled it away from the boy. Trying to keep the irritation out of her voice, she replied, "I've been here the whole time."

"Yeah, well—anyway," he waved it off. "We need to talk. I can tell you're not the fondest of me." Eleanor made a face that practically screamed "ya think?". He pressed on regardless. "I get it, I can be a little…much for people. I swear I don't mean anything by it. You know, deep down inside of me, is a sad little boy yearning for acceptance." He dropped his head pitifully. "I've been spat at, beat down, ridiculed, and more. My childhood was tough. That's why I'm not very good at connecting to people. But you, Eleanor…something about you makes me want to try. I understand if you don't want to." He twisted his head away quickly so the girl wouldn't see his face breaking into a shit-eating grin. He tried to collect himself before Eleanor could realize he was pulling a fast one on her. "But I hope you consider it. I'd really like to be your friend." He finally raised his head to look at her and was met with a glassy-eyed expression. Eleanor's hands were clasped over her heart and she began to nod.

**CONFESSIONAL: Drew**

"**Hook, line, and sinker," Drew said with a smug expression. He tossed his lighter back and forth between his hands. "Some of these kids are way too easy. You can always tell when someone's a sucker for a sob story."**

**CONFESSIONAL: Eleanor**

"**Drew's story is just so…" the girl wiped a tear from one of her large brown eyes. "So sad! I had no idea that he had been through so much. I wouldn't have written him off if I had known." She took a shaky breath. "I know what you're thinking: 'oh she's such a sucker for a sob story'. But I have a feeling Drew meant what he said. All the things he does: the flirting, the snappy comebacks, the **_**smirking**_**; it's all just a cry for help!" She placed her hands over her heart again. "And if he wants me to be there for him, I will."**

"We can be friends," she said with a smile. The older boy reached down to hug her, and she accepted the embrace. What Eleanor couldn't see was Drew winking at Rina, who was watching the whole exchange with bated breath. The blue-haired girl winked back and went back to fixing her hair.

Kirsten had taken note of this, as well. She stomped over to Eleanor and Drew and forced them apart with her sheer strength. "Eleanor, are you really gonna fall for this? He's playing you. Him _and_ Rina." Drew sucked his teeth and Eleanor clasped Kirsten's hands in her own.

"He's not. I know you don't trust him," said Eleanor. "But I'm sure once you get to know him—"

Kirsten pulled her hands out of her friend's grasp. "As if! Come on, open your eyes. He has 'snake' written all over him." Eleanor was about to give some form of a rebuttal when a loud knock came from the door.

Nadine, who was closest to the entrance, opened the door to reveal a smirking Blaineley and a downtrodden Don. Eleanor left Kirsten and Drew to join Nadine and the others at the door. Right before Drew went over, he leaned down and whispered in Kirsten's ear, "Next time, it'd be best to mind your own business, _skank_." Kirsten's eyes widened.

"What the hell did you just call me?" Drew snickered and put his hands into his jacket pockets.

"A skank. You know, synonym for hoe, thot, and my personal favorite from our good friends over in the UK: slag."

Kirsten's face grew hot, anger boiling in her blood. "You said you wouldn't use what I said at the therapist's office against me."

Drew shrugged. "I say a lot of things." Kirsten's heated, curse-filled response was cut off by Nadine's yell of "_WHAT_?!"

What Kirsten and Drew had missed during their argument was Don sadly informing the team that they had been on the receiving end of the sabotage from Team Blaineley. "I'm sorry, Nadine, but that means you and Kirsten will have to switch roles. She'll be Rizzo and you'll be Marty."

Nadine would've crumpled to the floor if it wasn't for Dalton catching her. "I worked so hard…" she said mournfully. "This was supposed to be my night."

"Yeah, well, now it's not. Boohoo," went Blaineley. "Since our team is performing first, you and Kirsten have however long singing three songs takes to learn each other's lines and steps. Have _fuuuuuun_," she sang before skipping out of the room.

"This is hell," Rina huffed. "How is Kirsten supposed to learn a whole song in fifteen minutes? She can barely function as is."

The blonde ignored the other girl. "I'll do it. It should be fine. Right?" She asked Nadine, who looked seconds away from passing out.

The southerner simply pointed towards the purple top and black skirt ensemble hanging on the clothing rack that would be needed for the solo song. After that, she plopped down into a chair and fanned herself with Dalton's discarded cowboy hat.

The hatless boy looked at the scene and back to Kirsten. He offered a semblance of a smile and said, "Yeah, it'll be fine."

Kirsten didn't believe him.

* * *

"Welcome back to Total Drama Takes the Stage!" Announced Chris. "Our contestants have just wrapped up preparing three show-stopping, gut-wrenching, roof-raising performances for your viewing pleasure. The first team to take us all back to school with three songs from the hit musical, _Hairspray_, is Team Blaineley. Hit it, Millie!" Chris stepped out of the way of the camera as it dollied closer to the stage. The curtains swung open to reveal Millie standing with her back turned to the audience. Behind her, was a hastily painted backdrop of a set of brick rowhouses. A sun with a smiley face drawn on shined bright in the corner.

The intro music started playing and Millie rocked her hips from side to side. After six counts, she turned around and sang, "_Oh, oh, oh, woke up today, feeling the way I always do! Oh, oh, oh, hungry for something that I can't eat—_" she skipped closer to the top of the stage and pretended to smell something delicious in the air. "_Then I hear the beat! The rhythm uptown starts calling me down, just like a message from high abooooove_," she outstretched her arms and spun gracefully in a circle. "_Oh, oh, oh, pulling me out to the smiles and the streets that I love!_"

She skipped to the left side of the stage and belted, "_Good morning, Baltimore! Every day's like an open door!_" She mimed opening several doors as she scurried to the other side of the stage. "_Every night's like a fantasy. Every sound's like a symphony!_" She did a series of box-steps as she sang, "_Good morning, Baltimore! And someday when I take to the floor, the world's gonna wake up and seeeeee…"_ she spun once more and framed her face with her hands as if she were vogueing. "_Baltimore and me_!"

She flashed a mega-watt and began the next verse. "_Oh, oh, oh, look at my hair! What 'do can compare with miiiiine today?_" She patted her poofy coif and preened. "_Oh, oh, oh, I've got my hairspray and radio, I'm ready to go!_" She took out the can of hairspray that she had used on herself and sprayed it into the audience, causing the three coaches to cough violently. She grimaced but continued to sing.

"_The rats on the street, all dance around my feet_," she crooned as two interns wearing Micky Mouse ears crawled on all fours around her. She kicked one of them for getting a little too close but covered it up with a giggle. "_They seem to say 'Tracy, it's up to you'! So, oh, oh, don't hold me back! 'Cause today all my dreams will come true!_"

She broke into the next chorus just as Zavier, Jalen, and a stumbling Brianna made their way to the wings of the stage. Jalen peeked from behind the wall to watch Millie sing, hearts slowly forming in his eyes. "She's really amazing guys…"

"Uh-huh," Zavier grunted as he leaned Brianna up against a wall. "Could you stop ogling her for a sec though and help me keep Bri upright? She is strung the hell out." Jalen got out of his trance and put Brianna's arm over his own.

"I'm so sleepy," Brianna slurred with a hiccup. "Just let me nap for a minute." Her head lulled to the side and her eyes slid shut.

Jalen and Zavier exchanged a look. "We don't have a minute, Brianna," said the jazz singer. "We need to get out there for 'Without Love' soon." He peeked behind the wall to see Millie singing the final verse of the song. "Like, really, really soon." Unfortunately, when he turned back around, Brianna was knocked out.

"Well, we're screwed," stated Zavier. He snapped a few times in Brianna's face, but the girl simply wasn't waking up. "Millie's gonna kill us."

Jalen tugged anxiously at his hair before realizing he was messing it up. He smoothed it back into place and took a deep inhale. "Um…let's get Gemini! Who cares if her voice isn't high enough, at least we'll have something."

Zavier wiped his sweaty palms on his brown corduroy pants. "That won't work. She doesn't even know the lyrics. We'll just have to throw in the towel, bro, and hope Millie shows us mercy." He gulped as Millie finished up the song. "I'm too young to die, I haven't even made it to the Grammys yet!"

Millie sashayed backwards behind the line of the curtain, and sang one last, "_Baltimore! And meeeeeeee."_ She curtseyed right before the curtains swung shut, pleased to hear the sound of the coaches and Chef applauding. She ran to the wings where the guys plus Brianna were waiting.

Jalen greeted her with praise. "You were incredible, Millie! I knew you were a good singer, but man, you can blow!" His face reddened instantly. "Not like that!" His slip-up went unnoticed by Millie, since she was too busy looking at Brianna's passed-out form.

"What happened to her?! Somebody wake her up; we go on in thirty seconds!" She kicked the sleeping girl much like she had kicked the intern earlier. Much to her chagrin, Brianna only snored in response. "This cannot be happening!" Her lips curled into a snarl and she pointed a finger in Jalen's face. "What did you do?"

Jalen paled. "I-I did nothing! She's been like this since rehearsal, you didn't notice?" Millie didn't respond because, well, she hadn't. She had been too busy perfecting her own choreography to pay attention to whatever was going on with her teammate.

She slapped a hand on her forehead. "Ugh, okay, it looks like we'll just have to do it without her." Zavier and Jalen gaped at her. "What? Do you have any better ideas?"

Zavier rubbed the back of his neck. "No. But how am I supposed to sing a song to someone that's not there? I'll look like an idiot!"

Millie wasn't hearing any of it. "The show must go on, Zavier. The show must go on." An intern with a headset on came up to them and told them it was time for their next song. Millie nodded, determined. "It's showtime, boys."

The trio marched onto the stage and waited behind the curtain. When it opened again, they walked out in a rhythmic fashion and took their places. The music started and Jalen started the song with, "_Once I was a selfish fool who never understood. Never looked inside myself, but on the outside, I looked good!_" He winked into the cameras and shot a pair of finger guns, not noticing Blaineley covering her mouth to stifle a laugh. "_Then we met, and you made me the man I am today,"_ he sung to Millie, walking over to her and taking her hands in his. "_Tracy, I'm in love with you, no matter what you weigh!_" They jumped to the center of the stage and began swaying.

"_Without love,_" they sang together, and Jalen followed it up with, _"Life is like the seasons with no summer._" He twirled her around as they sang "_without love_" again, and he continued, "_Life is rock n' roll without a drummer._" Jalen tore away from Millie and kneeled on one knee, belting, "_Tracy, I'll be yours forever 'cause I never wanna be…without loooooove."_ He hit a high note that managed to surprise Millie despite having heard it during rehearsal. "_Tracy, never set me free. No, I ain't lying. Never set me free! No, no, no!_" He got up and took Millie back to the other side of the stage. It was now Zavier's turn to sing.

However, nothing came out. He stared at the blinding spotlights and the cameras watching his every move. He was not about to sing to the air. His pride would not let him.

**CONFESSIONAL: Zavier**

"**Did I screw over my team? Maybe." His eyes were closed, and his arms crossed. "But I wouldn't have if Brianna hadn't shown up to the challenge wasted. So, who's really at fault here? Was I supposed to pretend to dance with an imaginary friend? The wind? A ghost?" He snorted. "No sir! Not me!"**

The music played as he stood there, silent. Millie's lips wound tightly into a scowl so menacing Zavier almost ran off the stage in fear. But he stood his ground and tapped his feet to the beat. When the time came for Jalen and Millie to sing again, they did so, spinning and kicking around Zavier who was planted firmly to that one spot on the stage.

"_Never leave me without love_!" The duo eventually finished, breathless and wrapped in each other's arms while Zavier was silently wondering how he could sample the song for his next album. All three of them bowed and bounded off the stage. Once they were out of sight, Millie grabbed Zavier by the throat and shoved him up against the wall. "What. The hell. Was that?" She growled, eyes mad with rage.

Zavier struggled for air and pleaded with his eyes to be released. When Millie did so, he choked, "I didn't want to look dumb on stage!"

Millie laughed humorously. "That's what you were worried about?! Looking dumb?! Well, not only did you accomplish that, but you also probably lost us the challenge." She backed away from him, disgust written on her face. "You are _so_ going home tonight."

Jalen jumped in. "Whoa, let's not be hasty now!" He attempted to rub Millie's shoulders but was pushed away. He pressed on regardless. "We still have one song left; I'm sure we can make a comeback!"

Millie growled again, scaring Jalen away just in time for Leon, Luna, Gemini, and Zane to enter the wings. They all slowly took in the scene: Brianna asleep and leaned up against the wall, Zavier gasping for air, Millie looking like a rabid animal, and Jalen looking like said rabid animal's prey. Leon cleared his throat. "We, um, brought your dress!" He said to Millie, holding the sequined costume.

Millie snatched it out of his hand and stomped to a dark corner of the backstage area where no one could see her change. Zane sighed and said, "I'm afraid to ask what happened, but here I am, asking anyway."

"You don't want to know," Zavier replied as he rubbed his now sore throat. "Just know that Millie is 100% capable of choke-slamming someone."

Luna observed Brianna and shook her head. Someone was going to pay for what they did, but that would have to be after the show was over. She noticed that an intern passing by was drinking from a large water bottle, and wordlessly took it out of their hand. Ignoring the intern's "hey!", she doused Brianna with the water, immediately waking the girl up with a gasp.

"What! I'm here, I'm awake!" The blonde yelled with a clarity she hadn't had since rehearsal. She blinked the water out of her eyes. "Did we go swimming?"

"Well, that's one way to solve the problem," Zane remarked, holding up a fist for Luna to bump. Luna eyed the fist suspiciously but bumped it anyway. Zane stooped down to Brianna. "Are you okay?" The girl nodded. "Cool, we go on for 'You Can't Stop The Beat' in fifteen seconds. Let's go." He hoisted her up just as Millie emerged from the shadows in her dress.

She said nothing about Brianna being awake and walked back on stage with a bit more force than usual. Everyone followed her, worried that saying the wrong thing could get them on the receiving end of her wrath.

When the music started, Millie had no problem hiding her contempt. She swung her arms and snapped as she walked languidly to the top of the stage, Luna as Amber following in toe. With vigor, she sang to Luna, "_You can't stop an avalanche as it races down the hill! You can try to stop the seasons, girl, but you know you never will._" She lightly pushed the smaller girl away and Luna fell back in an overdramatic fashion. "_And you can try to stop my dancin' feet, but I just cannot stand still!_" She performed some intricate footwork and raised her arms.

"_'Cause the world keeps spinning round and round, and my heart's keeping time to the speed of sound. I was lost 'till I heard the drums, then I found my waaaay, 'cause you can't stop the beat!_" Jalen then joined her to sing as they did the Mashed Potato dance.

"_Ever since this whole world began, a woman found out if she shook it, she could shake up a man!_" Jalen stepped behind Millie and leaned his body left and right. "_And so, I'm gonna shake and shimmy it the best that I can todaaaay, 'cause you can't stop the motion of the ocean or the sun in the sky. You can wonder if you wanna, but I never ask why._" They performed the wave like Zavier had back in the dressing room. "_And if you try to hold me down I'm gonna spit in your eye and saaaaay, that you can't stop the beat!_" They slid their fingers over their eyes and turned to face each other, smiling before getting out of the way for the next verse.

It was now Brianna's turn to sing, and though she was still wobbly on her feet, she was coherent enough to sing the next line to Zavier. "_You can't stop the river as it rushes to the sea_."

Zavier, glad that Brianna wasn't somehow permanently brain damaged by being knocked out, sang back, "_You can try to stop the hands of time, but you know it just can't be!_"

Brianna ran into his arms and he dipped her. "_And if they try to stop us, Seaweed, I'll call the NAACP!_" He picked her back up and twirled her to the side so they could sing the chorus together. They performed a kick-ball-change, and were soon joined in their steps by the rest of the cast.

Now it was Leon's time to sing. He walked confidently in his heels and crooned, "_You can't stop my happiness, 'cause I like the way I am. And you just can't stop my knife and fork when I see a Christmas ham! So, if you don't like the way I look, well I just don't give a damn!_" He sang the chorus as he lifted his arms up and down while his feet moved with precision. Once the chorus was over, it was time for the dance break, in which Leon shook his hips with reckless abandon. Millie and Gemini followed his movements, and when the dance break was over, Gemini took to the center.

"_Oh, oh, oh, you can't stop today as it comes speeding down the track. Yesterday is history, and it's never coming back_!" The fabric of her dress moved with her every step. _"'Cause tomorrow is a brand new day, and it don't know white from black_!" She sang the chorus as she kicked and swayed. The entire cast came together one last time to sing the chorus, ending it with all the couples stage-kissing and falling into a pose. All three coaches clapped, though Blaineley looked the most pained as she did so. Chef shuffled what looked like notes together and cleared his throat.

"Well, that was certainly something," he began. "I've never seen a musical start off promising, then descend into garbage, and then go back to being good that fast in my life. Well, aside from that _CATS_ movie." He put on a pair of reading glasses and peered at his notes. "The solo delivered, as expected. Millie, you may be a nuisance to everyone on this show, but you can sing like your life depends on it. Kudos." Millie bowed graciously. "And, the final ensemble number was fantastic. I thought I'd be more disturbed by Leon in a dress, but he made it work." Leon beamed, his face rosy from the exertion of the performance. "But that love song? Man, that was terrible. Half the song was missing! And Zavier just stood there looking like a fool. Anyone mind explaining?"

Zavier twiddled his thumbs and chewed the inside of his cheek. "We had some, uh, technical difficulties. We were short an actor and it didn't feel right to go on without her, so…" He trailed off, looking to the others for help. When none came, he sighed. "I take partial responsibility for the mishap, I guess."

"Hm," Chef considered. "Welp, that's unfortunate, but I can't say I really care." He put his notes to the side. "Team Blaineley gets a 5 out of 10. You better hope one of the other teams flops big time if you want a chance at not going home, kid." The team skulked off the stage just as Team Don arrived in the wings.

Chris stepped in front of the cameras once more to introduce them. "Now, here's Team Don with an electrifyin' performance of _Grease_!"

The curtains opened to reveal a new backdrop that was a blown-up stock photo of a generic high school. Two of the lunch tables from earlier were back on the stage and the girls were seated at one while the boys were at the other. The familiar tune of "Summer Nights" played from the speakers.

The boys mimed badgering Drew as Danny for details about his summer escapades while the girls did the same to Eleanor. Drew stood up and sang, "_Summer lovin', had me a blast_."

Eleanor stood as well and sang to the seated ladies, "_Summer lovin', happened so fast_."

"_I met a girl_," Drew pointed towards Eleanor. "_Crazy for me_."

Eleanor copied his actions and sang, "_Met a boy, cute as can be!_"

Everyone swayed in their places as the duo sang, "_Summer days, drifting away, to uh-oh, those summer nights._" Drew started moving his arms like a chicken, and kicked his legs one by one. Dustin, Ivan, and Dalton chanted, "_oh well, oh well, oh well-uh_" and sang "_tell me more, tell me more_!". Ivan swatted Drew's arm and sang, "_Did you get very far_?"

The girls also chanted, "_tell me more, tell me more_!" followed by Nadine asking, "_Like does he have a car_?"

Drew put his foot up on one of the chairs and sang to the guys, "_She swam by me, she got a cramp._"

Eleanor leaned in close to the girls who acted as if they were listening with rapt attention. "_He ran by me, got my suit damp._"

Drew clutched his chest and pretended to swoon. "_I saved her life! She nearly drowned_."

Eleanor twirled her hair and sang, "_He showed off, splashing around_."

The pair then sat on top of the tables and shimmied to the beat, singing, "_Summer sun, something's begun. But uh-oh, those summer nights_."

The "_tell me more, tell me more_" chant happened again, and this time Rina asked, "_Was it love at first sight_?"

Dalton, in turn asked Drew, "_Did she put up a fight_?"

Drew slicked back his gelled pompadour and hopped off the table, dancing around its circumference. "_Took her bowling, to the arcade_."

Eleanor, Rina, Nadine, and Kirsten started skipping with their hands behind their backs around their own table. Eleanor sang, "_We went strolling, drank lemonade_."

Drew summoned the boys closer to him, and sang with a wicked grin, "_We made out, under the dock_."

Eleanor, still skipping, went, "_We stayed up, 'till 10 o'clock_."

The pair did the twist, singing, "_Summer fling, don't mean a thing. But, oh uh, those summer niiiiights_."

After another set of "_tell me more, tell me more_", Dustin said, "_But you don't gotta brag_." This was followed by Kirsten rolling her eyes animatedly and intoning, _"'Cause he sounds like a drag_."

The dance break started and all of Team Don burst into movement, doing a hopping step move like the one from the movie. Eleanor did a sweeping kick and sang, "_He got friendly, holding my hand_!"

Drew jumped in front over everyone, landing on his knees, "_Well, she got friendly, down in the saaaand_."

Eleanor twirled. "_He was sweet, just turned eighteen_."

Drew got up and pumped his fist. "_Well, she was good, you know what I mean_."

"_Summer heat, boy and girl meet. But, uh-oh, those summer niiiights_," they sung together. The team went through one last verse before the music slowed down.

Eleanor started walking backwards, singing glumly, "_It turned colder, that's where it ends_."

Drew, who also walked backwards, went, "_So I told her, we'd still be friends_…"

They sang until their backs hit each other, ending with a strong, "_Summer dreams, ripped at the seams…but, oh those summer…niiiiiiiiights_." The duo then clasped hands to bow. The curtains shut, muffling the sound of applause from the small audience.

They zipped off the stage, most of them heading straight back to the dressing room since they wouldn't be needed until the final song. Kirsten moved into the same dark corner Millie had changed in to put on her purple and black ensemble. From where she was, she could hear that Drew and Eleanor were still in the wings.

"You were incredible, babe. And, here I thought you were too shy to sing like that," complimented the boy. Eleanor giggled.

"You were too! I guess I just needed the right people to sing with. That felt great!" She held up her hand for Drew to high-five it, which he did.

Kirsten had to stop herself from gagging. She instead dumped her first costume on a chair and grabbed the school textbook that would be her prop. She walked into the light, breezing past her two teammates, and walking out onto the stage.

She tried to control her breathing. Though she wasn't usually a nervous person, she had barely any time to practice "There Are Worse Things I Could Do". She knew her rendition would be dust compared to Nadine's even if she _could_ remember the lyrics. She was glad that there wasn't any choreography in the song, or else she really would've been in trouble. She shivered and looked towards the wings to see just Drew watching intently, as Eleanor had ran to the dressing room to change. _Oh, just great_, she thought sarcastically.

The curtain opened again, and she walked into the spotlight. She began the song, shakily, "_There are worse things I could do…than go with a boy, or two._" She clutched the textbook close to her chest. "_Even though the neighborhood thinks I'm flashy—trashy_" She quickly corrected, already annoyed with herself. "_And no good, I suppose it could be true. But there are worse things I could do._" She walked around the stage, silently wishing that everyone on Team Blaineley would wake up covered in boils for doing this to her.

"_I could flirt with all the guys...smile at them and bat my eyeees_." She batted her lashes in the general direction of the cameras. "_Press against them when we dance, make them think they stand a chance_." She slunk to the other side of the stage, before twisting on her heel like Nadine had showed her. "_Then, refuse to see it through. That's something I'd never do_." She went back to the center of the stage. "_I could stay home…every niiiiight. Wait around for Mr. Riiiiight_," she belted. Her voice wasn't as strong as it could've been, but at that point she just wanted the song to be over. "_Take cold showers every day, and throw my life away, on a dream that won't come true_." She bowed her head, singing quietly. "_I could hurt someone like me…out of spite or jealousy_." She lifted her head and saw Drew still watching. At his smug face, a silent rage grew within her as she remembered his words back in the dressing room.

"_I don't steal, and I don't lie_!" She sang in what almost came out as a yell. "_But I can feel, and I can cry! A fact I bet you never kneeeeew._" At that point, she was singing more to the wings than the audience, but she didn't care. "_But to cry in front of yoouuu…_" she sighed. "_That's the worst thing…I could dooooo_." She quickly bowed and ran back to the wings where the rest of the cast had regathered.

Nadine, though they weren't very close, hugged her. "You did great, Kirsten. Sorry if I was being a bit of a drama queen earlier." Kirsten chuckled.

"Please, you would've killed it out there. I'm just surprised I didn't forget most of the lyrics." She tossed the textbook away, not caring when it hit the backstage intern in the gut.

She accepted a high-five from Dustin, who told her, "You had less than 20 minutes to get the song right and you did! That's all that matters." Kirsten was warmed by all the praise, though she would never admit it.

Rina, feeling especially petty, directed everyone to get back on stage before anyone else could compliment the girl. They all took their places, with Eleanor and Drew in the center.

Eleanor had changed out of her original costume into a black cold-shoulder top and black pleather leggings. Her hair had been taken out of its ponytail and framed her face nicely. Drew snapped as the music played. The rest of the cast danced in the background.

"_I got chills, they're multiplyin'. And I'm looosing control_." He got on his knees in front of Eleanor. "_'Cause the poweeer you're supplying…it's electrifying_!" He mimed being electrocuted and fell to the floor. Eleanor walked around him and pulled him up by the back of his collar.

"_You better shape up! 'Cause I need a man. And my heart is set on you. You better shape up! You better understaaand: to my heart it must be true_." She placed her hands on her hips and hopped backwards as Drew hopped towards her.

"_You're the one that I want! You are the one I want, ooh-ooh-ooh, honey_." They sang together as they danced back and forth around the stage.

The song eventually wrapped up after lots of sliding, spinning, and serenading. "_You're the one I need, oh yes indeed!_" They ended with Drew picking up Eleanor and spinning them both around, with the rest of the cast falling in step behind them. Drew put her down as they received a standing ovation from the coaches.

Once all was settled, Chef took to his notes again and addressed the team. "Very strong performance, Team Don. Everyone put in 110% effort, and from the looks of it, that really paid off." He straightened his glasses. "The ensemble was well done, the love song was solid, and even though the solo had a rocky start—" Kirsten cringed. "It ended on a strong note. Considering you were the team that received the sabotage, you adapted well and pulled off _Grease_ without a hitch. Team Don gets a 9 out of 10."

The team jumped up and down together in celebration. Chris put a quick stop to it by saying to the cameras, "Hold on, Team Don! There's still one team left, and we saved the best for last." He preened as the contestants made way for Team Chris to start their show. "Here to get your heads in the game is Team Chris performing songs from _High School Musical_!"

The curtains parted to reveal the same backdrop from before, except "East High" had been scribbled on top in red marker. The piano intro started, cueing Aaron and Janice to walk in from opposite sides of the stage. Aaron, who was wearing a red and white tracksuit, was the first to sing. "_We're soarin', flyin'. There's not a star in heaven that we can't reach_." He pointed towards the bright spotlights.

Janice, donning a white lab coat with her hair pulled back by a red ribbon, grabbed Aaron's hand. "_If we're trying, then we're breaking free…"_ They walked closer to the top of the stage, the spotlight following them.

"_You know the world can see us, in a way that's different from who we are_," sung Aaron, thinking about all his teammates back in San Antonio. He wasn't entirely comfortable with them knowing about his affinity for musicals, or any other secrets of his that might potentially come out over the course of Total Drama. But in that moment, he sang his anxieties away.

Janice only fared slightly better than Aaron, for she was also anxious about her family watching from home. "_Creating space between us,_" she released Aaron's hand and stepped away from him._ "'Till we're separate hearts." _They both pressed their outstretched hands to their chests.

"_But your faith, it gives me strength; the strength to belieeeve…_" they crooned together. Aaron then shot his fist into the air and belted, "_We're breaking free!_"

The beat kicked in and the duo burst into motion. The pair sung the first lines of the song again but in a more jubilant tone, bobbing to the music. "_We're soarin', flyin'! There's not a star in heaven that we can't reach! If we're trying, then we're breaking free. Oh, we're breaking free."_

Aaron, with a pep in his step, walked closer to the top of the stage. "_Can you feel it building? Like a wave the ocean just can't control._"

Janice joined him and sang, "_Connected by a feeling,_ _ooh_, _in_ _our very souls."_ They joined hands again and lifted their free hand in the air, together going, "_Rising 'till it lifts us up, so everyone can see…"_

As Aaron shouted, "_We're breaking free_" again, Ariana and Chiara entered the wings prepared to sing the not-so-solo song. Ariana had noticed that the song sheet had lyrics for Ryan, but she had convinced Chiara that Ryan would be better seen and not heard in the performance. She, surprisingly enough, received no push back from the Pagliaccio. In her eyes, that made Chiara a potentially good ally.

The duo hit the bridge of the song, shimmying around each other with abandon. "_More than hope, more than faith,_" sang Aaron.

"_This is truth, this is fate_," continued Janice, leading them to sing together, "_And together, we see it coming._"

Aaron followed it up with, "_More than you, more than me_."

Janice replied, "_Not a want, but a need." _They linked arms and jumped in the air. "Both of us, breaking free!"

They sung the chorus again, ending the song at the original slow tempo with which they started. "_You know the world can see us, in a way that's different than who we…are." _Their voices harmonized together on the last note, earning a standing ovation from Chef.

Aaron wrapped an arm around the younger girl and they practically skipped off into the wings, where Ariana and Chiara were waiting.

"I must say, that was quite…" Chiara searched for the correct word. "Delightful."

"Yeah, awesome job, you two." Ariana said quickly. She was genuinely happy for them, but the part of her that always felt in competition with others grew bitter.

**CONFESSIONAL: Ariana**

"**Aaron and Janice are talented—probably the most talented on our team aside from yours truly. I'm not afraid to admit that," she said. "And we're a team, so them being talented means we win more challenges. But at some point, we **_**will**_** be at the merge and I don't want those two getting in my way, especially since they're all buddy-buddy now." She flung her hands in the air out of frustration. "Maybe if I manage to separate them…"**

Chiara and Ariana took their places on stage, which was now decorated with an inflatable kiddie pool and a couple beach chairs. Ariana, in her hot pink one-piece swimsuit and matching cover-up, with a white floppy hat on her head, lied back on the chair. She fixed her white sunglasses to escape the glare from the spotlights. Chiara, in a white polo and golf cap with khaki cargo shorts, sat in the other chair, fanning the girl with his hands.

The Persian-Italian girl took a deep breath and on her exhale, came out, "_It's out with the old and in with the new. Goodbye clouds of grey, hello skies of blue_." She waved at the ceiling and then turned slightly in her chair to look at the kiddie pool. "_A dip in the pool, a trip to the spa. Endless days in my chaise…the whole world according to moi…_" The piano intro changed to a poppy, tropical beat and Ariana was out of her chair, Chiara on her toes.

"_Iced tea imported from England, lifeguards imported from Spain,_" at each line, an intern came out offering her something, only to get shoved off the stage. She didn't feel too bad, it was all part of the act. At least, on her part. "_Towels imported from Turkey, and turkey imported from Maine._"

Chiara put an arm around Ariana's shoulders, only humming the line he was supposed to be singing. Instead, it was Ariana going, "_We're gonna relax and renew_." She removed Chiara's arm from off her and pointed a finger at his chest, telling him, "_You. Go. Do_!"

Once he was out of the way, she belted, "_I want fabulous, that is my simple request. All things fabulous, bigger and better and best. I need something inspiring to help me get along. I need a little fabulous, is that so wrong_?" Being a talented dancer, she swept the stage floor with grace, a large smile on her face. She was finally showing the viewers what she was made of.

She walked to the edge of the stage and peered over to see the interns still on the ground, writhing in pain. She rolled her eyes. _They were supposed to be back on stage by now_, she thought. Huffing, she sang to their bodies, "_Fetch me my Jimmy Choo flip flops. Where is my pink Prada tote? I need my Tiffany hair band. And then I can go for a float."_ She ran back to the pool and sat in it, upset that it wasn't actually filled with water like the interns told her it would be. "_Fabulous pool, fabulous splash! Fabulous parties, even fabulous trash_!"

Chiara returned to her side, leaning in close as Ariana sang, "_I need, I need_," repeatedly with increasing volume. He was almost blown away by the bellowing of, "_I NEED FABULOUS_!" straight into his ear.

The song ended with the influencer looking into the audience, asking "_Is it absolutely fabulous? Absolutely not_!"

Ariana glided off the stage in a haze of glory, followed by Chiara who made a beeline for the changing corner. They received congratulations from the team that had arrived in time to watch the latter half of the performance. Ariana accepted the praise as she slid on a pair of white jeans and a white tank, bedazzled tank top over her swimsuit.

"Thanks, gumdrops. It felt so good to finally have the spotlight for once. See, wasn't this better than Janice hogging it all?" Janice bristled, but let it go, knowing that they had to go on stage for the show-stopper.

Chiara emerged wearing a dark red button-up and black pants. His white hat had been switched out for a red fedora. "Are we ready?"

"Yup," answered Aaron. "Let's go, Wildcats!" The Texan led the charge onto the stage.

Almost immediately, the music started and all the contestants except Aaron and Janice were doing a cheer-type dance in the middle of the stage. "_Together, together, together everyone. Together, together, come on let's have some fun! Together, we're there for each other every time. Together, together, come on let's do this right._"

Aaron, still in his tracksuit, moved from stage left and weaved between the rest of the cast mates to get to the top of the stage. He paused along the way to do a two-step with Erica, twirl Hayato (much to his irritation), and high-five Genvieve. "_Here and now, it's time for celebration. I finally figured it out, yeah, yeah. That all our dreams have no limitations. That's what it's all about, yeah, yeah._"

Janice, in her red dress, did the same from stage right, but doing similar moves with Jordan, Devon, and Chiara. "_Everyone is special in their own way. We make each other strong, we make each other strong. We're not the same, we're different in a good way. Together's where we belooooong_." She met Aaron in the middle and the entire team broke into song.

"_We're all in this together. Once we know that we are, we're all stars, and we see that. We're all in this together, and it shows when we stand hand in hand. Make out dreams come true…_" Everyone separated from their close-knit position and started doing their own choreography.

As they sang the, "_together, together_" hook, Jordan, Devon, and Aaron took their basketballs and started dribbling them between their legs, kicking up one leg and doing a smooth twist before the ball touched down on the ground again. They then threw them at each other in a circle formation. Devon dropped the ball thrown at him by Aaron, but Jordan quickly bounced it off the ground and managed to recover the scene quickly.

Chiara slid to the center of the stage as the teens parted for him. He wasn't the best at sounding happy when he sung, and was far more used to opera than anything contemporary, but he tried his best with the lyrics. "_We're all here, and speaking out with one voice. We're going to rock the house, yeah, yeah_." He didn't sound as jubilant as he was supposed to, but his dramatic dance moves made up for it. "_The party's on, now everybody make some noise. Come on scream and shout_." Everyone yelled and Chiara stepped out of the way to reveal Ariana behind him.

She strutted up the stage, singing, "_We've arrived because we're stuck together. Champions one and aaaaalll_." She held Devon's hand with visible distaste as she hit her high note. Everyone broke out into the chorus a few more times again, performing the dance with precision.

Everyone then got out of the way for Hayato and Erica to perform their cartwheel. They chanted, "_Wildcats everywhere, wave your hands up in the air!_" as Erica stood adjacent to Hayato, prepared to go into the cartwheel. As she flipped, Hayato grabbed her waist and entered into his own cartwheel, the both of them flipping in tandem along the stage. Once they were done, they joined into the, "_That's the way we do it, let's get to it. Come on, everyone!_" They all posed with their character's partners: Erica with her leg in the air next to Jordan, Ariana and Devon paused in mid-can-can, Chiara and Genevieve pressed back to back, and Janice and Aaron in a hug. Hayato did a split in front of all of them.

Chris was the first out of his seat, eyes welled with unfallen tears. "That. Was the most beautiful thing. I have ever seen." He took out a handkerchief and blew his nose. "Well, that's a lie. Because I wake up to this handsome face in the morning every day!" His mood did a complete 180 and he tossed the used handkerchief behind his back. "But that was still pretty damn good, Team Chris. Well, Chef?" He directed to his friend that was perusing over his notes. "Tell our winners how they did."

Chef cleared his throat. "Huh. I'm surprised because y'all tend to barely get by on these challenges, but this really blew me away. I mean, Janice and Aaron's duet was incredible. You two really put your emotions into it, not to mention that your vocals are top tier." The pair beamed with pride. "Ariana, you really showed your stuff with that solo. You might just have more stage presence than anyone else on this show." Ariana flipped her hair behind her back in an attempt to appear nonchalant, but inside she was bouncing for joy. "And that last number? Every single one of you did your part. That was the best ensemble of the night. That little flippy-dippy thing Erica and Hayato did was out of this world." The two fist-bumped with smug expressions. "That was a 10 out of 10 performance, Team Chris." The team started hugging each other in celebration.

Chris jumped on top of the Judges Table and pointed at Blaineley and Don. "In your snotty little faces! I get the spa day this time you losers! If you beg, I might just let one of you eat the leftover cucumbers from my cucumber facial as a light snack."

"Uh…McLean?" Don asked after Chris was done gloating. "Chef's not done yet." Chris whipped around to see that Chef had unearthed one final sheet of notes. The Total Drama icon grunted and jumped off the table, but didn't take his seat.

Chris tapped his foot impatiently. "What's the hold up? We know they did great. What more do you need to say?"

Chef fixed him a glare and continued, "What I was gonna say was, that was a 10 out of 10 performance…but unfortunately Team Chris is disqualified." There was no sound in the theater except for that of ten jaws dropping to the floor. "The instructions for the challenge were pretty clear. You had to sing a song from _High School Musical_. That meant the first one. If you could sing a song from _High School Musical 2_, we would've said that."

Erica's eye began to twitch. "Funny. Maybe one of us should've mentioned that, right Ariana?" Ariana ignored this, eyes suddenly very focused on her platform sandals.

"Now," went Chef. "Due to the quality of your performance, I might've been able to excuse that as an honest mistake. But then you took a song that was a duet and performed it as a solo. That was just blatant disregard for the game." He pushed his notes out of the way. "So, unfortunately, you automatically lose the challenge. Team Don wins." It was now Team Don celebrating, ecstatic that they had made a comeback after their disastrous loss last episode.

Don stood up and clapped for his team. "Fantastic job, team. Now, we have a bit of a different prize for you this time. Head outside the dorms around 9:30 to check it out." With that, all the teens save for Team Chris were dismissed back to the dorms.

Said team was still on the stage, dumbfounded by their loss. "How did this happen?" asked Janice. She grabbed Ariana by the shoulder and pointed a finger in her face. "Why would you do this?"

Ariana slapped the younger girl's hand away. "It's not like anyone told me not to. How was I supposed to know?"

Erica raised a hand. "Uh, I definitely told you. In fact, I'm pretty sure I called it the dumbest idea to end all dumb ideas."

"Well," Ariana fumbled. "That was only about the difference between _HSM 1_ and _2_. Chef said himself that he would've excused that. But no one here thought to tell me or Chiara about the duet thing? We _both_ thought it was fine!"

Chiara made a face as if to ask, "now why am I in it?" but stayed silent. He would just have to watch this play out.

Genevieve raised a finger. "That's what I kept trying to tell you during rehearsal. But every time I tried to, you told me to 'buzz off'. Well, at least that's the nicer version of what you told me."

Ariana blanched. She assumed that the nosy girl was trying to hatch a plot on her. "Well…then why didn't Mr. Closet Theater Geek say anything?!"

Aaron sputtered. "I'm sorry, I was a little preoccupied rehearsing for the two other songs!"

The Youtuber waved his response away and muttered, "Some captain you are."

"I'm not captain, there are no captains," explained the athlete. "We've established this!"

The tension the team had finally seemed to let go of was back in full force. _How did it go wrong so fast?_ Genevieve asked herself. "Let's all calm down…"

"No, how about let's not," Erica said. "Because from the sounds of it, if you had just asserted yourself, we wouldn't be in this mess."

The psychology student gasped. "How is this my fault now?"

"Ooh, looks like things are getting juicy on Team Chris!" While Chris was disappointed they lost, he would never turn down an opportunity to create more drama. "Someone will be going home tonight. Who will it be? Ariana for bulldozing over everyone? Aaron for not noticing something was afoot? Genevieve for not asserting herself? We'll see when we return to Total! Drama! Takes the Stage!"

Erica growled and yelled, "Why don't we send _you_ home, Chris? You're the one that could've put an end to all this."

"Not listening!" Chris put his hands over his ears and ran out of the theater. The sound of the door slamming shut was the last thing the team heard before being swallowed by silence.

* * *

**GREEN ROOM**

The quite tension followed the team all the way from the stage to the Green Room. Nobody was talking to each other as they waited for Chris to enter the room. It was the exact opposite of how they were in the dressing room over an hour ago.

Despite Aaron's wariness towards alliances or anything remotely alliance-like, Jordan, Erica, and surprisingly enough Janice had agreed that they wouldn't be voting him off. The Texan was grateful for their loyalty, but was quick to ask them not to make a habit out of it. He wanted to get through the competition fair and square, and not off the backs of his friends.

Genevieve and Ariana were less fortunate and both of them knew it. Ari's only real ally on the show was Eleanor, who was on a different team. And while Genevieve tried to be as friendly as possible to everyone, she wasn't necessarily friends with anyone.

**CONFESSIONAL: Ariana**

"**This is all such bull. Why am I getting blamed for something that Aaron shouldn't have let happen in the first place? He claims he's not captain, but he always acts like one. How hard would it have been for him to just pay attention to his teammates? If this is how he operates his little sports teams, it's a shock he's every won anything."**

**CONFESSIONAL: Hayato**

"**Erica made a good point earlier. Genevieve was the only one who noticed what Ariana did, so it was her job to stop Ariana in her tracks. She didn't, which means this is her fault. It's simple. Plus, I don't like how she's always trying to psychoanalyze everybody. If I needed a counselor, I would go to one; not some student that reads Freud to go to sleep at night."**

**CONFESSIONAL: Devon**

"**Erica can go. I mean GO. She's unpleasant, meanspirited, and nearly killed me at least three times already. I'm positive she's the reason Ariana even did what she did in the first place. If she stays here any longer, it'll only be a matter of time before she finds some other poor fool to antagonize. Bye Pumpkin!"**

**CONFESSIONAL: Jordan**

"**I mean, it's kinda obvious, right? If Genevieve says Ariana ignored her attempts to set her straight, then I believe her. At the end of the day, we're all grown here for the most part. Ariana knew the rules, she just chose to ignore them. She's talented like crazy, but she's not a team player. And, if any of us are going to make it to the merge, we need to work as a team."**

Chris walked in with the CDs and shook his head disappointedly at his team. He sighed and shuffled the CDs in his hand. "You know, I was really hoping it wouldn't have to come to this…" he snorted. "I'm just kidding. You all kinda annoy me in your own little, unique ways. Any of you going home would be a weight off my shoulders. Anyway, time for our third elimination ceremony. You know the spiel, if you get a CD, you're safe. First up: Janice!" He tossed the disc to the dancer-turned-singer. "Jordan…Chiara…Hayato…Devon…and Erica."

He looked at the two last CDs in his hands. He tossed one to Aaron. "That leaves Ariana and Genevieve. One messed up big time, and the other didn't do anything to stop it. One of you will be going home. Genevieve…" the French-Canadian's head fell in defeat. Until she felt something hit her. She looked down to see a CD. "You're safe. Ariana, it's time for you to go."

Ariana fell off the ratty, stained chair she was sitting on. "Is this a joke? You can't do this to me! This show's ratings were going up because of me! No one would've watched this garbage if it wasn't for me promoting it on my channel. My subscribers _made_ you, McLean!"

"That's funny, if that's the case, how come I've never heard of you before?" Chris asked with a quirk of the lips. He opened the door. "The taxi of has-beens is waiting for you outside. Remember, don't come back! Ever!"

Ariana balked but stomped through the doorway. She turned around and addressed her former team. "This isn't the last you'll hear of me. Me and my gumdrops are more powerful than you'd ever guess. We've ended whole careers! And all of yours will be over before they even started. That includes _you_, Chris."

Chris yawned. "That's what they all say, kid." He slammed the door in her face. Looking at the shocked expressions on his team's faces, he said, "Well, that was fun! Get back to the dorms, you filthy animals."

**CONFESSIONAL: Chiara**

"**Hm. That seemed to go exactly as expected." He crossed his legs languidly. "Perhaps I should do that more often."**

* * *

Don appeared in the control room, having just watched the elimination ceremony. "Well, looks like our team of 2nd placers have finally tasted defeat, and lost a very valuable player in the process. Will they be able to recover and finally win a challenge without Ariana? Will anyone on Team Blaineley ever face consequences for what they did to Brianna? Will the impeccable Team Don keep up the good work for next episode, or will all the drama get in the way? Find out next time on Total! Drama! Takes th—" Don was suddenly knocked out of his seat, replaced quickly by Chris.

"Yeah, the outros are _my_ job, remember?" The host straightened his collar and stared into the camera. "Find out all that stuff Donnie-boy just mentioned next time on Total! Drama! Takes the Stage!"

* * *

Hey again! Thanks for reading! Now that each team has lost a member, the count for them is:

Team Chris: Aaron, Jordan, Chiara, Hayato, Devon, Janice, Erica, Geneveive

Team Blaineley: Zavier, Jalen, Leon, Zane, Millie, Gemini, Luna, Brianna

Team Don: Dustin, Ivan, Drew, Dalton, Rina, Nadine, Eleanor, Kirsten

Some notes about this chapter: This chapter is way longer than intended and I'm so sorry for making you read this much in one sitting, I'll try to keep them around 12,000 words from here on out. I had a scene planned for the end of the chapter that would make up for the characters that didn't talk much, but after seeing how disgustingly long this was getting it got cut. That scene/the scene with Team Don's prize will be in the next chapter. I've been taking your feedback into account (and I will definitely respond to everyone this time - believe me I DO read your feedback and appreciate it so much.) and I 100% understand that some plots seem to be taking up too much screentime. Don't worry, every character that hasn't been eliminated yet (and maybe even some who have oop) will get a multi-chapter story arc. This is just the first round of subplots I have planned, and I'll be digging deeper into the other subplots very soon. There's a lot in store for these characters so stay tuned!

Okay, enough of me talking, now it's time for questions:

1\. Of the three musicals performed in this chapter, which is your favorite? (If you don't have one, you can say that too! Hairspray is mine lol)

2\. Which performance/individual song did you think was the best?

3\. Favorite and least favorite characters? (I know I ask this every chapter, but opinions change!)

4\. Are you surprised to see Ariana go? Who do you think should've gone instead?

5\. What friendships are you excited for/want to see?

Btw, hint for next chapter: it features a challenge that was suggested by one of you! I'll give credit at the beginning of the chap. Thanks again for reading, and stay safe!


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